Killing and Loving on Drama Island
by FionaxBelli
Summary: Rin and Hitomi are best friends thrown into the terrifying battle to the death known as 'Battle Royale.' Forced to fight for their survival against their classmates, they find a way out. Fate throws many people their way, including Gaara of the Sand, Kiriyama, Shuya, Nobu and a smoking hot classmate named Koji. Love and drama finds its way into every heart on this crazy adventure.
1. Chapter 1

**This story was written by my best friend and I when we were 13 years old. Keep in mind that when we wrote this, we were very young and that might reflect in the writing. The beginning is a tad slow, but it does get better the more you get into it. We continued to add to this story up until we were 15 years old, so you may or may not see improvements as the story progresses. My best friend is passed away now, so the story will forever remain unfinished but I decided to share this for pure entertainment purposes. Readers who are looking for a good laugh and an interesting take in the minds of teenage girls having an afternoon of writing fun after watching the Japanese film 'Battle Royale' by Kinji Fukasaku should look into this.**

**My best friend wrote for her character Rin, and I was in charge of writing for my character Hitomi and any other character. They are our original characters we created for the Battle Royale tournament. This story is labeled as a crossover into Naruto as well, however the only Naruto related thing in this story is Gaara is thrown into the mix. He does not make an official appearance until chapter 6, so I apologize if you were looking for a full on Naruto-Battle Royale collision maxed out story.**

**Please enjoy. :)**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Battle Royale**

-Rin -

I yawned and put on my white and black school uniform, adding my signature red tie. I added our black jacket over the top. I wasn't at all in the mood to go to school today, but today was the school field trip and I promised my best friend Hitomi that I'd go with her today. The field trip was a study trip to Okinawa for our 11th grade class, where we'd stay for about a week.  
"It'll be fun!" Hitomi said, "We can make fun of all the retarded people in our class!"

So I agreed to go, grabbing my pre-packed bag over-filled with my special kimonos, Lolita outfits, and casual outfits. I also had shampoo and conditioner, and other feminine products.  
I applied some light eyeliner under my gray eyes on my pale face along with a light coat of mascara. I put in a cherry blossom hair clip in my hair that made an intricate design, cleverly made. Looking in the mirror, I see my layered black hair fall below my shoulders. My bangs are cut to the side.  
Afterward, I put in my earphones and put on Kanon Wakeshima's "Otome no March". I walked to school slowly, muttering the lyrics under my breath.

We formed a line to get on the bus. I stood beside Hitomi.  
Tomoko, the most popular girl in school, cut in line in front of me with all her stupid little friends who followed her every step like robots, staring at her in awe. Her lips were overloaded with pink lipstick, and her skirt was pushed up so high that when she bent over her thong was clearly visible. Her top was pulled down to an amount where much cleavage was very visible as well. She had long blonde hair – obviously dyed – and had an ugly gross tan. She was what I like to call a slut. I have no idea how she was popular, she was quite hideous to me, but I guess that only went to show that the guys here had very, VERY bad taste.  
I gave her a very cold glare, annoyed that she thought she could cut in front of Hitomi and me without us even saying anything.  
I ignored her, and waited for her to leave. Finally, Hitomi and I got onto the bus. I took a seat in the back with Hitomi beside me.

-Hitomi-

I got up to the sound of my annoying alarm clock. But instead of dreading to go to school like every other day, I was excited. Today we were going on a field trip for our 11th grade class to Okinawa for a study trip.  
I threw on my school uniform, put on a black choker with a cross, and began to apply some makeup.  
After I was done, I stared at the girl in the mirror. Brown hair framed her pale face, with choppy bangs that stopped below her eyebrow. She had on blood red eye shadow and some eyeliner under her green eyes.  
And then she smiled.

I followed Rin in line on our way to the bus. We were laughing and talking when Tomoko and her little group butted in front of Rin and I. It was very rude of her and her friends, but we dealt with it.  
Finally we got on the bus, and sat in the back.  
"Don't you want to sit next to Nobu?" I teased her.  
"Shut UP Hitomi!" Rin groaned and put her head on her knees, but I could see her smiling.  
"C'mon, let's go!" I said, grabbing Rin's hand and dragged her to where Nobu was sitting. Rin tried to run away with all her might, but I held her back. Nobu looked at us confused.  
"Hey Nobu," I began to say "Would it be okay if Rin sat by you?"  
"Uhh...sure." He replied, confused.  
I shoved Rin into the seat, and she blushed like crazy.  
I giggled and took the seat behind them so I could listen in to everything they said.  
Next to me was Kiriyama, the transfer student.  
He was looking at me confused.  
I blushed, he was cute!  
"So..." Nobu began.

-Rin-

"Uh...I think I have to go!" I ran to Hitomi and grabbed her hand. "Wait, who's he?" I asked Hitomi.  
"The transfer student. His name is Kiriyama."  
"...Okay. Hi...I guess."  
I ran back to our original seat.  
"You know I like him! Why'd you do that?!" I asked, embarrassed.  
She just laughed. I laughed with her, but looked back at Nobu making sure he didn't hear. He thankfully wasn't looking.

-Hitomi-

Rin sat in the seat with her head in her lap, embarrassed.  
For awhile, it was silent. Nobu would glance at Rin every once in awhile.  
Soon, some girls went up to Nobu and Nobu's best friend Shuya. One of the girls had cookies and handed them to Nobu, her name was Noriko.  
They took a picture of Nobu, Shuya, and Noriko together.  
I glanced at Rin, she looked sad when that girl Noriko started giving the cookies to Nobu and getting a picture with him.  
Poor Rin...  
Suddenly I felt dizzy, and my eyelids felt heavy. Soon everything went black...

-Rin-

I was upset that Noriko was talking to Nobu, but I dealt with it. I was extremely tempted to ask him if he liked me or have Hitomi ask, but I was too embarrassed. Suddenly I felt dizzy and everything went black.

-Hitomi-

At first it was all a blur, but eventually it became a clear picture. We were all in a classroom, and it was dark. Everyone was waking up, confused.  
Where are we...?  
I could feel something weird around my neck. I looked and my old black choker was replaced with a new one. Awww…my choker! What happened to it?

I looked around.  
By the looks of it, everyone was wearing chokers. They were all metal with a mini screen.  
I found Rin, and I hurried and ran to her.  
Suddenly there was a loud sound outside. Some people opened the curtains, only to have a blinding light go to their eyes. They covered their eyes with their arms. A large helicopter was flying outside, landing. Many soldiers in military uniforms came marching with guns.  
A soldier opened the sliding door to the classroom, letting someone in. They turned on the lights, and our old 7th grade teacher stood before us, Kitano.  
"Kitano?!" A girl said. Everyone was so confused and stood silent.  
"Hello everyone, you probably all recognize me from 7th grade, I was your teacher back then and I am retaking that position. I have missed you all."  
Everyone remained silent.  
"You are the lucky class chosen to perform Battle Royale this year. Today your lesson is to kill each other off."  
We all gasped in horror.  
"What?" People all around the room started talking amongst themselves in total confusion.  
"That's right. The rules are simple; there has to be only one winner."  
A retarded guy from our class started to laugh, thinking this was all a stupid joke I assumed. Kitano looked at him like he was stupid.  
"You think this is funny?" The guy stopped and went all red, embarrassed.  
"The time limit is three days, and if there is more than one person living, everyone dies."  
I almost started to cry. Would I die here?  
"Now," Kitano continued, "Those chokers you're wearing? They will explode if there is more than one person left alive after the time limit."  
People all around the room started to blurt out questions like, "Where are we?" and, "Are they serious?"  
"You are on an island. It has been cleared out for all of you." Kitano answered.  
"There are danger zones. If you linger into them at a certain time, your chokers will then also explode. They are 100% electric and water proof. And if you try pulling them off they explode too. So promise not to do that, it is quite painful and you will die instantly."  
Everyone was silent and nervous.

-Rin-

I shook with fear. What was going to happen on this island? Would Hitomi die? Would I?  
A girl started to whisper to her friend. Kitano looked at her with anger and yelled, "No whispering!"  
He then threw a knife to the girl's head, and she fell over to the floor, dying instantly. Everyone screamed and ran towards the back. Finally after awhile everything was okay. Kitano smirked. I clutched Hitomi's hand, nervous and terrified. She squeezed back.  
"Now, you're all going to get your own survival bag. Each bag has some food, water, and a weapon. Each bag's weapon is different. You may get lucky and get an ax or your unlucky and get something sucky like a pillow." A guy named Mimura raised his hand.  
"Yes?" Kitano asked.  
"Why are you doing this?"  
Kitano started to roam around the room.  
"It's your own damned fault. You all mock grown-ups…" Another guy, a nerd, raised his hand as well. Kitano called on him.  
"Can I go home if I survive?"  
"Yes, but ONLY if everyone else is dead." The nerd looked down hopelessly.

-Hitomi-

Kiriyama didn't look scared at all, just kinda out-of-it.  
Kitano began lecturing Nobu, some old grudge Kitano has against him. Nobu stuck his tongue out at him, and Kitano smacked Nobu in the head. Nobu winced in pain, and put his hand to his head and rubbed it.  
"Nobody should be like this scumbag here." Kitano said, pointing at Nobu.  
Uhh…okay then. That was random.  
"Now, when I call your name, come up and get your bag, and then leave out the door there. Got it?" Kitano explained.

He called each of our names one by one. Out of our little group, I was first to be called up.  
I walked up slowly and nervously, unsure of what awaited me once I left this classroom and went onto the island outside. Would someone try to kill me?  
I took a quick glance at all the faces in the room; fear and confusion was all their expressions.  
Out of everyone, Rin looked the most worried as she watched me go. I could see Rin's hand lift up a little, reaching out to me.  
They threw me my 'survival bag' and I left outside.

I hid behind some bushes, where no one could see me but I could see them, and fell to my knees. I almost started to cry, my eyes were getting watery but I wiped them away. I shook slightly.  
The government wouldn't really allow this, would they? How could they even allow this?! It was just so…unfair.  
I saw Rin come out, looking paler than usual and terrified. I emerged from the bushes to greet her. When she saw me she ran to me hugging me, terrified.

-Kiriyama-

I start to block out this annoying old man. Everyone looks so scared…  
All I want to do is get this stupid "game" over with.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Nightmare**

-Rin-

I ran and got my bag, feeling extremely bad for Nobu, and exited. I saw Hitomi come walking out from some bushes. I ran to her hugging her and crying. We ran off as fast as we could. Soon we encountered Shuya who started to say we should stick together. I freaked out, what if he was going to kill us?! Hitomi and I were hesitant to stick together with him, but decided we should. Even in this panic I was nervous about being by Nobu.  
Shuya, Hitomi, and I waited for Nobu and Noriko. They appeared, and we began to talk.

-Hitomi-

Eventually Noriko and Nobu came out. When Rin saw him coming she blushed.  
"Hey," Nobu said when he got to us.  
"I can't believe their doing this..." Noriko said, looking sad and worried.  
"Yeah..." Rin replied quietly.  
"ANYWAY, LET'S…GO!" Shuya squealed.  
Uhh…what's wrong with him…?  
We ran far.  
Eventually we stopped to catch our breath, and it was dawn.  
We all looked in our bags to see what weapons we got. Shuya got a pot lid, Noriko got binoculars, and Nobu got a spoon.  
"I'LL BANG THIS ON PEOPLE'S HEADS! RAAAAWWWR!" Shuya yelled, growling.  
What was with this guy?  
When I saw my weapon, I gasped. I stared at the gun in my hand; a pistol.  
I went over to Rin.  
"What did you get?" I asked, curious.  
"…A machine gun."

-Rin-

I looked at my weapon in fear. Why did I get stuck with it? It's powerful, but I was scared. I couldn't shoot someone…could I?  
"We should leave. Find shelter." I headed off, and searched for any sort of shelter. But, me being my stupid self, I walked off too fast and was on my own.

-Hitomi-

"Man she can run fast!" Nobu said, panting.  
I ran even faster; I refuse to lose Rin. I kept running, through thick forest, trees speeding past me. But no matter how fast and far I ran, I couldn't find her.  
I stopped, and found myself lost in the middle of the woods somewhere.  
I fell to my knees and gazed up at the now bright blue sky through the trees.  
Suddenly I heard a branch break.  
I stood up quickly, clutching to my pistol, keeping it close.  
I looked around me, but no one was there.  
All of a sudden a guy with an ax emerged from the trees.  
"Hello, it's your time to die now." He said, raising the ax high into the air.  
My eyes grew large, frightened.  
I pointed the gun at him as he charged towards me yelling, "EEEAHHHH!"  
I fired the gun at him, the bullet speeding fast from the gun in my hands. When the bullet hit him small specks of blood bursted from his shoulder. He yelped out in pain and fell to the ground.  
"No! I can't die!" He cried out.  
I fired again, multiple times, and soon his cries of pain died out.  
I examined his dead body. I killed him...  
I had such a sick feeling…I didn't want this to happen.  
After I got over the shock of what I'd done, I moved on. The trees ended and opened up to a field.  
Two girls stood higher up the hill in the field. They had a speaker phone and were yelling out to have everyone go to them, saying we could all work this out and come up with a peaceful solution.  
Suddenly they got shot several times by a machine gun. Kiriyama emerged, made sure the girls were dead, and left.  
Then I heard Shuya's voice from a distance yell out the two girl's names.

-Rin-

"HITOMI!" I screamed. Where could she be? I started crying as I looked for her. It was a while before I heard Shuya's piercing voice. I followed it and was glad to find people I could trust.  
"Shuya!" I ran up to him and smiled, even though I thought he was ugly and annoying. "Where is everyone?" Nobu then came up breathing heavily, with Noriko following behind him.  
"Rin! You ran...so fast!" Nobu said, panting.  
"...Uh...yeah..." I said nervously. "Well, anyways, where is Hitomi?" I ask nervously.  
"We don't know." Nobu said.  
"You…you don't know?" I said quietly, about to break in tears.  
"Then let's go! We have to find her…" I felt cold tears run down my face.  
Rustling leaves broke the silence and I turned in hope.  
"Hitomi?" I said through tears, "HITOMI!" I saw her figure through the branches and cried harder. I ran up and hugged her.  
"I thought you were dead! I'm sorry I left! I promise I won't leave you!" Hitomi looked at me, slightly confused.  
"Of course!" She stated.  
"Oh! Did you hear Kiriyama kill those two girls?" Hitomi asked.  
"What? That's awful! I can't believe it…" I muttered to myself. I then turned to Hitomi and said we should figure out a plan if we wanted to survive.  
Our first plan of action was to find shelter. We looked at the map and decided to head towards a lone house. When we arrived, it was on top of a hill, and thankfully no one was in it.

-Tomoko-

Like Oh my god. What the hell is going on here? We have to kill everyone! Uhhh! Well, my friends like, totally ditched me! I mean, just uhh! Weeeeeeell, I better apply on some make-up, I mean you never know when a REALLY hot dude will like totally see you.  
I sat down, and I flipped out my compact $100 mirror. I applied more pink lipstick, in pinky pink cherry flavor. I added some pink and yellow eye-shadow onto my eyes, so they would like light up my smexy luxurious face!  
There, I felt so much more prettyful! I just wish that Koji was here. I've missed him so much! I mean, I haven't even like, gone ALL the way with him! I mean, we haven't even kissed yet! UHHH! Like, I NEED to kiss him! I've already lied to my friends and said that I have, but what if they find out we haven't?! It would like, ruin my reputation! UHHH! I should just kiss him like, NOW!  
So I like should totally find him! UHHHH!

-Hitomi-

We walked for awhile. Nightfall soon came. We all decided to rest a bit and sleep.  
In the middle of the night I felt a little dizzy so I decided to take a short stroll around. The cold air felt good on my face as I walked. I gazed at the moon. It was so pretty!  
Then I heard voices. I listened closely. The voices belonged to Shuya and Noriko. I walked slowly towards the sound of their voices, and then I spotted them, talking. I hid behind some nearby bushes to listen in.  
At first, it was Shuya talking about how his dad committed suicide when he was in 7th grade, which was sad of course, but I was hoping for something more interesting. But then...  
"HEY, wanna know something about NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB BBUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU?" asked Shuya.  
"Uhh...what?" replied Noriko, having a really confused expression.  
"Nobu LICKS you. A lot."  
Noriko was silent.  
"UHHHHM. I MEAN…HE LIKES YOU. HEHHEHE. WHOOPS."  
"He's HAD this SECRET crush ON you FOR awhile," Shuya went on, "DO you LIKE him BACK?"  
Noriko looked nervous.  
"Uhh...I need to go." Noriko said, and then walked off.  
Shuya stayed there silent and confused for some time, and then finally walked back to where Nobu was sleeping and went to sleep next to him.  
I heard strange moaning noises coming from over there…What was going on?  
Poor Rin...And what an asshole Shuya is for telling Noriko his best friend likes her! Some friend he is...psh. I walked back and went to sleep beside Rin.

In the dream, I'm running. Running to save Rin. She's cornered by a bunch of guys from our class. They've all got guns and knives and there going to kill her.  
In my hand I hold a machine gun, to shoot those guys down. To save her.  
But I don't make it in time. The men kill her and laugh.  
"RIN!" I scream, horrified.  
When I do make it there, I kill all the men in a rage with the gun  
They all scream in pain and eventually die.  
I walk to Rin's body and fall to my knees.  
"Rin...please wake up. We promised to stay together forever. Don't die...you can't die...YOU CAN'T DIE!" I yell, tears streaming down my face.  
"Rin..." I call out my best friend's name, and sob.

I wake up, gasping.  
"Hitomi?"  
"Oh...what?"  
Rin looks at me confused. I answer her with a confused expression as well.  
It's silent for awhile, and then I remember last night about Nobu.  
"Hey, Rin?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Last night I found out..."  
I tell Rin everything from last night, and after she's silent. She looks sad, but she's able to handle it.  
Nobu suddenly comes into view.  
"Oh, hey guys." He says.  
"Oh… hi." Rin mumbles.  
-Rin-

After Hitomi told me the news, I went on a small walk to clear my head.  
I was disappointed to hear that Nobu liked Noriko, but I decided to focus on the more urgent problems ahead of me. My train of thought was broken when I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I screamed and looked to see who it was. It was the fat kid from our class. He began charging at me with a knife. I stumbled for my gun, and shot wildly until he was dead. I looked at the body in shock. How could I do that? How could I kill someone? That's…impossible.  
I ran back to the house where everyone was.  
"Hey Rin, you okay?" Nobu asked.  
"N-not really…someone just attacked me." I said, slightly shaking.  
"What happened?" Hitomi asked.  
"I…killed him."  
"At least you're okay, right?" Hitomi comforted me.  
"Yeah, I guess. What's going to happen once everyone else is dead?" I asked, barely audible.  
"OH MY GOOOODODODODODOD! WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHEHEHEHEH." Shuya shrieked.  
"Let's not think about it." Noriko said seriously.  
"Yeah, I'm sorry." I apologize.  
The morning reports then came on telling us the danger zones and who had died. Twelve of our classmates had died. This sounds awful, but I secretly wish more had died. I was sick of this hell hole.  
"We should get more supplies." I state. Hitomi decided to come with me, so we left.

-Hitomi-

We decided we'd go look for some more food; we were running really low.  
We just kept walking, and walking...We stopped to rest, and sat against some trees. I laid back my head on the tree, exhausted from everything.  
After some rest, we continue.  
We walked a bit further into the trees, and emerged into an opening.  
Out of no where a guy comes running out screaming, and Kiriyama comes out after him and stabs him in the stomach.  
He then leaves.  
My eyes grew large.  
What the hell just happened?

-Rin-

My heart was beating so hard, I was in complete shock. What just happened? I was shaking and on the verge of crying. I looked at his victim, and saw that it was of that creep who was always asking Hitomi and I out. I didn't like him, but I didn't like the fact that others were dying out here!  
"Hitomi, let's go. We can find food later I guess." I said.  
Hitomi nodded. As we were searching for them, we bumped into the other transfer student who wore a headband. I saw him raise a pistol. I gasped and backed up. In the nick of time, I grabbed my machine gun and fired at him. He died quickly, and I realized I needed a new round of bullets, so I loaded a new round into it.  
I picked up his weapon for extra protection, and continued walking with Hitomi towards the house. Noriko was making lunch. I was pretty hungry so I sat down and began to eat. The food was bland, but I couldn't blame her. There wasn't much in this house anyways.  
I sat down and thought about the people I killed. This all feels like a giant nightmare. Please, someone wake me up!

-Koji-

I heard a most annoying familiar voice call my name. I immediately knew who it was. I turned and saw Tomoko a short distance away.  
"KOJIIIII! O.M.G.!"  
"Oh uh…hey…" I said, trying not to look disgusted.  
Tomoko got tears in her eyes and began to run towards me.  
Out of nowhere the transfer student comes running out holding a machine gun.  
He shoots Tomoko, and she weeps out in pain.  
"…W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"  
Tomoko falls to the ground and looks up at me.  
"I heart you Koji…I HEART YOU!"  
The transfer begins to shoot again, aiming at me, but misses. He curses and continues to run anyway.  
Thank god!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Escape**

-Hitomi-

We wandered around aimlessly.  
The afternoon reports came on, 25 of 40 were dead. So 25 people had been killed...9 more people alive; if you leave out our group and Kiriyama.  
We walked a bit longer, when suddenly a flash bomb exploded in front of us. I couldn't see anything, just all white. I could hear everyone screaming...  
When everything cleared, we were all split up. I found myself with Rin and Nobu, and the others were missing.  
"Ah! What was that?! Where are we?! Where's Shuya and Noriko?! Ahhh!" Nobu said, panicky.  
"Calm down you idiot." Rin said, a bit annoyed I could tell.  
"We need to find Shuya and Noriko, without the notice of others. Let's go, shall we?" I said.  
"Uh...right." Nobu replied, obviously feeling a little stupid about freaking out so bad.  
We wandered around looking, but they were nowhere to be found.  
"Where are they?" Rin asked to no one in particular.  
"Who knows?" I replied.  
"I can't go on without them. They're everything to me..." Nobu said looking at the ground, talking mostly to himself.

-Rin-

We armed ourselves with our weapons and went out to search for Noriko and Shuya. I went ahead and saw Kiriyama in the distance. I slowed, hoping he didn't see me; I wouldn't kill him, I was just making sure that he didn't kill me.  
I'm going insane here, it's the second day and I'm barely hanging onto reality. While I was drifting in my thoughts, I tripped on some roots. I heard footsteps and looked up to see who it was.

-Hitomi-

Noriko came running out of the trees.  
"Nobu! Hitomi! Rin!" She ran to us in a panic.  
"Where were you?! What's wrong?!" Nobu asked, grabbing her arms.  
"I was with Shuya. We were looking for you guys when suddenly we were attacked by the transfer student. Shuya, he ran away to lure the transfer student away so I could escape. The transfer student chased after him, shooting his gun like crazy. Please you have to help me find him!" Noriko explained.  
"Oh my god!" Nobu gasped, "Let's go, now!" Nobu grabbed Noriko's hand and pulled her along with him into the trees.  
We followed silently.

-Rin-

I got up, and followed Nobu and Noriko to find Shuya. After a while, we found him sitting in front of a shrine bleeding from his leg.  
"OWWW! EHHHHH. HELP ME!" he screamed.  
"Shhh!" I hushed him.  
"I guess I'll patch him up." Nobu offered.  
"Ohhhh…NOBU! NOBU! DON'T STOP!" He moaned as he was being bandaged up by Nobu. Nobu looked very disturbed.  
"Well, let's go back to the house." I suggested. Thankfully our shelter hadn't been a danger sight so far.  
When we got back, I started to cook our dinner. It was cheap ramen. It was about the only edible thing in the house. After five minutes or so, it was done.  
"Mmmm, yummy! It's so good Rin!" Nobu said, shoving the noodles in his mouth.  
"Uh, thanks?" I say distracted. What were we to do next?

We were running out of food, so we all decided to eat the bread in the survival bag. As we were eating, the morning announcements went off. The only people who were left were us, Kiriyama, Koji, and another guy named Mimura.  
"MIMIMIMMI. MURA. IS ALIVE! OHHHHHHHH." Shuya shouted.  
"Shuya, quiet down!" I order him. How were we going unnoticed with him being so loud?  
"LLLLLLET'S GOOGOGOGO GET HIM! EHEHEHEHEHEH. BOP!"  
"We don't even know where he is." Nobu pointed out.  
"EHHH!" Shuya started to cry loudly, so Nobu decided to make him feel better.  
"Okay, we'll search for him."  
So off we all went. It took almost all day just to find him. In fact, I was surprised to even find him!  
When we arrived, Mimura started to jump and yell.  
"Is he okay?" Nobu asked.  
"I just crashed into the network!" He screamed, while holding onto his choker from the game.  
"What? What does that have to do with anything?"  
"It means we can go home!" He continued to shout.  
"How?"  
"These are useless!" He pointed to the choker.  
"Well we'll get ready then, I guess." I said simply.

-Hitomi-

We started to leave.  
Another question came to my mind. How would we leave? Maybe Mr. Nerd knew.  
We followed the nerd towards the sea.  
There were 2 boats floating in the icy water.  
I jumped down on the first boat with Rin.

Out of no where Kiriyama came out of the trees.  
I froze in place, and our group began to scream.  
"A way out!" Kiriyama suddenly said.  
Without a word, he ran down to us, and climbed into Rin and I's boat.  
"You don't mind, do you?" He asked us with an apologetic smirk.  
Rin and I looked at each other with confusion.  
"Uh…not at all." I replied.  
"B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-BUT…HE'S A BAD MAAAN!" Shuya yelled.  
We all ignored him, and Kiriyama looked really weirded out.  
"Don't ask," I muttered.

Our group began to get ready to climb in the boats with us.  
"If they're coming, they won't be in this boat. It'll be too much on it."  
Rin and I each picked up an oar, and we began to row away.  
"Oh come on! I saved your asses! COME BACK!" Nerd yelled.  
"Get in the boat and we'll wait! God..." Rin said.  
We rowed away along with Mr. Nerd and Kiriyama.  
It was silent...  
"We're finally leaving this damned island..." I say, sighing in relief.  
"Yeah. Hahaha, they made it too easy to escape! Those losers." Rin replied.  
I smiled happily. No more people had to die…

-Rin-

It was a frustrating trip. Night fell on us, and we weren't even close to land.  
"Oh my god...we're going to die at sea!" I said.  
Shuya's boat rowed up next to ours.  
"Well, can anyone see anything?" I asked hopefully.  
"Not really..." said Nobu.  
"The chokers. We can take them off." I took mine off, and dropped it into the black water. I rubbed my neck, it was so sore from that choker rubbing against it!  
"So we just keep on rowing?" I asked in the silence.  
"Pretty much." Nobu responded.

-Hitomi-

Nothing happened for awhile.  
Suddenly Nobu called out, "Hey everybody, wanna go for a midnight swim?"  
"Are you crazy? First off we don't have a swimsuit. Second the water is freezing!" Rin argued.  
"Ah, we can handle it. And we'll just swim in our underwear. That's like a swimsuit!" Nobu said.  
"I'm not giving myself hypothermia." Rin replied, angry.  
"But it will be fun!"  
"No, it won't!"  
Nobu looked around at everybody, "Anybody wanna join me?"  
"I'll GOOOOOOOOOOOO!" said Shuya.  
"What about you Noriko?" asked Nobu, looking at her with hopeful eyes.  
"Uhh...umm...fine. A dip can't hurt." She replied.  
Nobu got a happy expression.  
"And you Mimura?"  
"Well, there might be dangerous things in the water..." Mimura replied nervously.  
"Like sharks?" Nobu asked.  
"Uhh...yeah."  
"Oh! Hahaha! Mimura is scared that there might be some sharks in the water! Awww..." Nobu mocked.  
"Hey! I'm not scared!"  
"Prove it!"  
"Okay I WILL!" The nerd began to undress into his boxers.  
"What the HELL do you think your DOING?!" Rin yelled, covering her eyes.  
"Gonna swim." Mimura replied.  
"I hope you drown!" Rin pushed Mimura into the water; he still had his pants on.  
"AHHH!" Mr. Nerd cried out. He hit the water with a loud splash.  
When he emerged from the water he said, "Oh my GOD it's FREEZING!"  
"Any sharks, Mimura?" Nobu asked, laughing.  
"There could be!" He shouted back.  
"Well, there's only one way to find out." Nobu said, and dived into the water.  
"Ahhh...it feels nice." Nobu said, his back against the water, floating. Shuya walked to his boat's edge. He looked hesitant to jump.  
Sighing, he said, "...OKAY, here goes POOP. I MEAN NOTHING." Then plunged into the water.  
"It DOES feeeeeeeeeeel NiCe!" He exclaimed excitedly.  
"Told ya. So you comin' Noriko?" Nobu asked.  
"Umm...yeah." She jumped in and screeched.  
"It's cold!" She complained.  
"You'll get used to it." Nobu stated.  
"Okay…"

Noriko looked like she was having a hard time swimming  
"You alright, Noriko?" Nobu asked, concern on his face.  
"Uhh…..umm…" Noriko said, sinking in the water a little.  
Nobu swam over to her. He put his hands on her waist, holding her up.  
"Steady there." Nobu said softly, almost flirting.  
Rin rolled her eyes.  
They swam around for awhile, splashing and being annoying.  
A huge wave of water came into our boat, and Rin and I shrieked.  
Rin got a really pissed off expression like she was going to kill someone, and leaned over the edge of the boat.  
"Who did that?!" She shouted, fire in her eyes.  
Everyone was silent.

-Rin-

I groaned and sighed as the water spilled into the boat. I was annoyed, but at least it didn't get on me.  
I took Kiriyama's spot and started my turn for rowing.  
Finally, I saw a tiny speck, a dock maybe? I started screaming with joy, and rowed so hard. Hitomi was struggling to keep up with my pace. After about an hour, we were touching the edge of the dock. I laid down on it, I needed to rest!  
Hitomi and Kiriyama did the same.

~~~Next Morning~~~

I woke up and looked around. Hitomi was eating and everyone else was sitting around.  
"I guess I slept in, whoops." I say.  
"Well, start eating. We have a long day ahead of us." Hitomi tells me.  
I grab some bread and stuff my face. I was so hungry!  
"So, what are we doing?" I question.  
"Finding a place to sleep." Hitomi answers.

-Hitomi-

We began walking around the city, trying to figure out where we were.  
A big sign above us said "Welcome to Osaka!"  
"Well that made it easy." Rin said.  
"We need to find the train station, so we can go home." I stated.  
"Right." Rin nodded.

We walked down the many streets, and passed a lot of people on the way. A lot of men were leaning against the buildings smoking. It was scary.  
We wandered around for what seemed ages.  
"Ugh…We're lost…" Rin said hopelessly.  
"We're going to have to ask someone for directions…" I said.  
"Well, I'm not doing it." Rin replied.  
"Please don't make me do it." I laughed nervously, not wanting to confront one of these creepy people.  
"Fine, I'll do it." Kiriyama suddenly said.  
"Oh…thank you!" Rin and I said in unison.

Kiriyama went up to a middle aged man putting up a sign. I saw the man point in a direction which must've lead to the train station.  
Kiriyama came back, and said, "It's this way, let's go."  
We found the train station, and I had forgotten that it required money to ride the train; which we didn't have any.  
"$50 bucks for ONE person?!" Rin said furiously.  
"How are we going to get $350 for all of us?" I asked.  
We thought for a moment.  
"Hmm…we might have to get jobs." Kiriyama said, his hand on his chin in thought.  
"I guess so." Rin replied.  
"Or rob someone," Kiriyama laughed.  
Rin and I sighed.  
We headed back to town looking for job openings.  
A sushi restaurant had a job opening.  
"Let's try this place." Rin suggested.  
"Okay!"

We entered the restaurant.  
It was nice, clean, and tidy.  
A man behind the counter said, "What can I do for you?"  
The man was bald, with a mustache.  
"Uhm…we noticed you have a job opening and…" I began.  
"Wanna work here do you?  
"Err…yeah."  
"Hmm…I could use the help of two fine ladies like yourselves."  
Rin and I glanced at each other, creeped out.  
"Alrighty then, when do you want to start working?" He asked.  
"Right now."  
"Eager to start working with such a handsome man like me?"  
Rin and I shared uncomfortable glances; he was far from handsome.  
"What's this job pay?" I asked, trying to change the subject.  
"Ahh…$10 a day." So, we'd be working 5 days, not including the others.  
He handed us two aprons.  
Kiriyama stood silent.  
"Uhh aren't you hiring him?" I asked, glancing at Kiriyama.  
"Nah, I won't take more then two of ya."  
It was silent.  
Kiriyama had to find a different job then…  
He walked out impatiently; a little pissed I could tell.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Hotel and Restaurant Fun**

-Rin-

"Okay, so what exactly do we have to do?" I asked, frustrated. He acted like we knew exactly what we had to do.  
"Oh! Well…you do this…" He rambled on forever and never shut up. I was a fast learner, so it was pretty easy. We practiced for about 15 minutes, and the chef was talking about how good we were doing. I felt…violated. I shuddered, what a creepy man!  
When we got to the sushi store, it was around lunch time. So we had a lot of customers. I was working so hard! After we got a little break, I noticed Shuya and Nobu come in.  
We walked up to the counter, I was slightly annoyed. Why weren't they working like us?!  
"Oh! Rin! We didn't know you worked here! Hitomi, too?! That's a coincidence! HEHE!" Shuya said, with Nobu laughing along with him.  
"You guys are supposed to be working! Why aren't you trying to get a job?" I ask.  
"WE'RE BUSY! I also want a CALIFORNIA. Roll. Eh." Nobu said.

Why was he acting strangely like Shuya? That's a little creepy.  
"With what money?"  
"This!" He pulls out a twenty dollar bill, and I sigh.  
"You need to save money! And where did you get that?" I could feel my patience slipping.  
"ON the GROUND." Shuya yelled. I groaned and decided to let him.  
"What about you Shuya?"  
"Same as…NOBU. BUBUBUBU. MMM." He started looking at Nobu creepily, when I turned and notified Hitomi of what to make.  
I returned to the cashier, seeing Nobu and Shuya walking back to some seats.

Suddenly I saw a really fat guy come in. I hid my terrified expression on my face.  
"Welcome, sir. What would you like to eat?" He took his annoyingly sweet time choosing, and finally sitting down. The next customer came up to the counter. He had a green jacket on, and jet-black hair. My stomach lurched, he was…so cute!  
I blushed a little, and hoped he didn't notice.  
"Uhm, hello, sir. Uhm..…uh what would you like to eat today?" I tried to smile the cutest smile I could. I blushed a little more again. I heard him laugh a little under his breathe. I then felt a little embarrassed, and blushed EVEN more! How embarrassing!  
"Well, I was wondering what you would recommend, if that's okay with you?" He questioned.  
I was caught off guard, so I stuttered a little. "Oh! Uh, well…uhm how about, the eel roll?" I said, feeling extremely nervous. I saw him smile, just a sliver, trying to hide it.  
"Okay, I'll have that!" He smiled at me, and then he began to look through his wallet. I blushed for the fiftieth time, and added it up.  
"¥700 please!" He then handed me the money. I took it, and gave him the extra change back. "Well, your food will be ready soon!"

-Hitomi-

As I cooked Shuya and Nobu's California rolls, I peeked over to see who the current customer was. It was an extremely cute guy with his bangs covering one eye.  
I wasn't surprised to see Rin blushing one hundred different shades of red. It was kind of funny.  
I laughed quietly to myself as I watched Rin stutter over almost all her words.  
Rin came to the back with me. She was smiling happily to herself, blushing slightly still.  
"Did you see that really really REALLY cute guy?!" She said excitedly.  
"Haha, yeah! He was extremely cute!" I replied.  
"Yeah! Well anyway, he ordered an eel roll. Get working!"  
Rin walked back to the cashier.

I suddenly got a question, and went to the boss's office to ask him about it.  
He wasn't there, and I noticed some jars on his desk.  
For some very ODD reason the jars were full of toenails, hair, bugars, earwax and other unknown contents.  
I got a most wonderful idea, and smirked evilly at the thought.  
I gathered all the jars; while feeling sick just by touching them, and took them to the now finished California Rolls.  
I put on rubber gloves, and put some of each from all the jars into the California Rolls in places where they weren't noticeable; while trying not to barf.  
Just touching them was so revolting. I mean, the hair had bits of white dandruff on the ends. Disgusting!

I walked out holding the tray of California Rolls and placed it on Shuya and Nobu's table.  
"Mmmm it looks good! Thanks Hitomi!" Nobu exclaimed excitedly.  
"Err…yeah." I said while walking away, and hiding behind a corner.  
I peeked around to see their reaction.  
They both picked up the California Rolls at the same time.  
"WHO should TAAAKE the FIIIRRST…bite?" Shuya asked stupidly.  
"Mmmm…I don't knoooow…" Nobu replied.  
They did rock paper scissors for awhile and finally agreed to take the first bite at the same time.  
I was getting extremely impatient. Why couldn't they just eat like normal people? Why it did matter so much who took the first bite?  
They raised the rolls to their mouths slowly, making it dramatic, and FINALLY bit into the rolls at the same time. They chewed for a minute or two, until Nobu said, "This…tastes…weird…"  
I held back a laugh by putting my hand to my mouth.

Immediately Shuya spat it all out. The things from the jars were now clearly visible, such as a couple of toenails, some strands of hair, and a yellow liquid.  
Nobu's hand flew up to his mouth; holding back puke, and Shuya started choking.  
It was too late; he had already swallowed the nasty roll.  
I bursted out laughing so hard I started crying.  
I ran to Rin and told her everything.  
She peeked around the corner to see for herself, and then started laughing with me. We laughed for awhile until I said I needed to go back to make the cute guy's eel roll.  
I made it, and it was perfect!  
I placed the tray on the cute guy's table nervously, and blushing like crazy because I was so close to him.  
"Thanks," He said kindly, looking up at me.  
I blushed even more.  
"Umm…y-you're welcome!" I said smiling, hoping I didn't look as retarded as I felt.  
He laughed quietly under his breath.  
I turned away quickly to hide my blushing even more and walked back to the kitchen.

-Rin-

I secretly watched the cute guy eat; I wish I could meet him! I sighed, when another customer came up. I bolted straight up!  
"Ahh! I mean, uh, welcome! What would you like to eat today?" I said. After I said that, I realized it was Kiriyama.  
He looked at me, very confused.  
"Uh, whoops! Hi! So, why are you in here?" I asked.  
"I found a job." He seemed…sad.  
"Well, what kind of job did you get?" I questioned him.  
"I got a job as a 'fish seller'. It smells really bad. And my boss is even worse."  
I stood there, flabbergasted. Poor Kiriyama!  
Suddenly, the cute guy came up and told me thank you for the meal, and that he was leaving. I sighed, and made a moronic mistake. I didn't even try to hide the sigh, so he knew that I liked him. He looked at me and laughed. I blushed, and he said something that surprised me.  
"My name's Ren. What about you?"  
"Uh, it's Rin!" I reply.  
We say goodbye and he leaves.  
Kiriyama began to laugh at me.  
"What?" I muttered.  
"You are horrible at hiding your feelings."  
"So?" I muttered. He laughed and told me that he had to leave.

~~~ A Couple Hours Later After Work ~~~

We were wandering the streets trying to find a hotel to stay at. We had a major problem though. We had absolutely no money. How were we going to pay the money…without robbing someone? I didn't want to resort to criminal activity!  
"Ugh, what are we going to do?" I sighed.  
"Rob someone. Choose someone who looks really rich." Kiriyama stated.  
I looked around. Did we really have to do this? I reluctantly started to look for this person to rob. Someone rich? No one really looked rich whatsoever; I mean this was a poor district. Apparently we had good luck, because I saw a rich kid come out of a limo.

-Rich Kid-

"Butler! I need to use the loo! Pull over right now!"  
I look out and disapproved of this poor, dirty, peasant district.

-Rin-

The boy had blonde hair, and a navy blue suit. I grimaced at his snobbishness. I did feel bad that we were robbing someone so young.  
"You! Peasant! Come here!" He shouted at us.  
"Who, me?" Kiriyama asked.  
"Yes! Tell me where the loo is!"  
"Uhm, follow me." He sounded vaguely confused.  
"Fine, I'll give you 5 minutes. THAT'S IT!" the stupid rich kid said.  
I followed after Kiriyama, seeing what would happen next.  
"Where is it?!"  
"Close, don't worry." Kiriyama comforted him.  
"I said—"

Before he could finish, Kiriyama knocked him on the back of his head with a gun. We just knocked him out; we didn't want to kill him!  
We stole about $200 in total. Why was he carrying so much money on him?  
We started walking towards the better part of town, but Nobu, Shuya, Mimura and Noriko were nowhere to be found.

After a half hour, we found a cheap motel. We had to save money, so we found the cheapest place we could. We entered into the lobby, and went up to the front desk. I asked for a room, one night for 3 people was about $100 dollars. I groaned, but accepted. The man at the front desk gave us the key to Room 236.

We all walked to the room. I inserted the key into the slot, and opened the door. We all chose a bed, and changed into our pajamas. Mine was long sleeved shirt that went down to the middle to my thighs. It was black, and Hitomi had the exact same thing, it was just white. Kiriyama was in his…uhm…boxers…it was extremely awkward to be around him, but he didn't seem to even care that we were here. I did notice that he was well built. I did blush slightly when around him, not because I liked him or anything, but because he was half-naked!

-Hitomi-

Kiriyama glanced in my direction; meeting my eyes. He looked confused, and I blushed.  
"…What?" He asked.  
"Uhhhm…uhh…nothing…" I say, looking away.  
"Why are you red…? Are you getting sick or something? Do you have a fever?"  
Thanking him for his stupidity in my mind, I quickly said, "Uh yeah! I um…better get to bed."  
I practically ran to the bedroom, and heard Rin join me shortly after.  
We began to whisper to each other quietly; not wanting Kiriyama to hear.  
"Why the hell is he in his boxers…?" Rin laughs.  
"I don't know," I reply, laughing too, "but maybe he's a little too comfortable with us." I smiled teasingly.  
After some more laughs, we retired to the bed and fell asleep.

~~~Some time around 1:00 a.m.~~~

I was sleeping very nicely when I heard a big BANG. I jolted up and looked around, searching for the source of the noise.  
Then I heard Shuya's voice.  
"Ohhhhhh….WE FOUND IT! FINAAALLY!"  
"Y-YEAH!" Nobu replied.  
They were panting really hard.  
"WE LOOKED, FOREEEEEEEEVVVERRRR!" Shuya continued.  
"SHUT UP!" I heard Kiriyama yell angrily.  
I held back a laugh as I heard Nobu and Shuya gasp with fear.  
"OH…OKAY!"  
They wandered around for a minute and then said, "Where are we SUPPOSED to sleep? HUH?"  
"Just sleep in the closet!" Kiriyama said impatiently.  
Nobu and Shuya were finally quiet; now in the closet.

-Rin-

~~~ Next Day ~~~

Hitomi and I walked into the sushi store and began to start the new day. The morning was very boring and slow. Almost nobody came in. I sighed with boredom.  
Hitomi and I talked for about 3 hours, when the creepy boss came out.  
"What are you doing? Work!" He screamed at us.  
"There's no one in here!" I replied.  
"Oh, okay!" The boss walked out, being a moron as usual.  
We looked at the clock, it was 11:43 A.M. we sighed, work would be booming soon.  
"Hi Rin! Well, I think we want the eel roll, just like that one guy…" Nobu said.  
"Nobu, I can't serve you. You have no money, and if you did, you need to save it!" I stated.  
After Nobu sat down, Ren came and said hello.  
"So, what would you like today?" I smiled my cute smile again.  
"How about the Ninja Roll." He stated.  
"Of course! One moment please! You're meal will be ready soon." I ran to the kitchen to tell Hitomi what to make and what was going on.

-Hitomi-

I worked really hard to make the cute guy's Ninja Roll perfect. I added a couple of my own special touches and eventually it was finished. Yay!  
I served it to him when Nobu finally left and went outside.

-Rin-

"Okay, I'm leaving! Bye! Oh, by the way, the sushi was really good!" He smiled, then waved, and walked out of the restaurant. I blushed, when suddenly Nobu came in.  
"Eh! Nobu!" I shouted.  
"Huh? OH! Rin, where are you…? OH I found you! What?"  
"Uhm, okay then…well anyways, I was wondering where Noriko went."  
"I have no idea. LET'S PUT OUR THINKING CAPS ON!" Nobu shouted. I slowly walked backwards, and turned to answer a ringing phone. When I got to it, it stopped. I turned back around, to see Nobu wearing someone's hat.  
"What the…" I whispered to myself.  
"THINKING. THINKING. THINKING. DONE!" Nobu yelled. "She's kinda ran away..…uhm, yeah. She's gone…heh heh…" Nobu said.  
"Hopefully she's okay! But at least we only have to pay 300 bucks now." I said with shock.  
"Fine then. Hmph!" Nobu stomped off. Who was he talking to?  
Shuya suddenly came in and started singing songs. I groaned, what a moron!  
I was so frustrated! I hurried and walked outside to take a break. I sat there, closing my eyes, trying to calm myself.

~~~A Couple of Hours Later~~~

At the end of the day, we ran back to the hotel and entered room 236. Since it was 11:00 p.m., we all changed into our pajamas.  
Kiriyama then sat on a chair in front of a TV, folded his legs, put on some glasses, and began to read a book. I looked at him with extreme confusion. Kiriyama…reading?  
"Uhm, What are you doing, Kiriyama?" I questioned.  
His glasses fell a little down his face as he said, "I'm reading."  
"I know, but when did you get glasses?"  
"I need them to read."  
"You're near-sighted?"  
"Yeah."  
"Okay…" I couldn't help but notice how cute he looked, even though he was wearing boxers and glasses.

~~~1:00 a.m.~~~

As we were all sleeping perfectly, we were rudely awakened by Shuya and Nobu coming in.  
I then heard bed sheets moving, and giggling. I stared at Hitomi in fear. We walked towards the noises, when we saw Nobu shoot out from a bed, screaming in fear. We laughed, but were still confused. All we heard was Shuya mutter 'Damn' under his breath. I was disturbed.  
Either way, I went back to bed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Train Wreck**

-Hitomi-

Rin and I were working at the restaurant, and we were both working at the cashier because the boss insisted he needs to cook the food. Nobu and Shuya came as usual, but this time, Mr. Nerd came with them!  
"Oh, I was wondering where he's been these past few days..." I muttered to Rin as they strutted toward us. Nobu and Shuya ordered California rolls and sat down. I was surprised they still ate here after the incident where I put toenails and such in there food...they are so stupid.  
It was Mimura's turn to order, and he took his sweet time looking at the menu and choosing what to get when he finally said, "Okay, I want...a laptop sandwich!" Rin and I looked at him like he was an idiot.  
"We don't serve that here..." I muttered.  
"But it says that right here!" He pointed to a meal on the menu, but it clearly said "Lemon Roll".  
"It says Lemon Roll DUMBASS!" Rin yelled, and I started laughing.  
"What?! Huh?! But it..." He slowly realized that it did, indeed, say lemon roll.  
"Oh...I'll have a...California Roll then..." He said, sounding depressed and walked to Nobu and Shuya's table.  
"Retard..." Rin said under her breath.

-Rin-

Hitomi and I randomly decided we'd call Kiriyama for fun.  
We walked to the back of the restaurant, and called Kiriyama's place.  
""HELLO?! EEEEEEEEE! HEHEHEH!" It was obviously his boss.  
"Hi. Is Kiriyama there?"  
"ONE MOMENT PLEASE! EEEEEE AHAHHAAHHAHAH! ALALALALALLALLLAAAAAAA" I waited for 5 seconds, when Kiriyama said hello.  
"Hello."  
I asked the boss for our money, when he gave us double the pay for each of us! Hitomi and I ran off to get Kiriyama. We met up with him and then ran off to get the train tickets. I sighed, wishing Ren could come with us. Would I ever see him again...?  
We got to the train ticket station and got five tickets, because Noriko and Mimura had disappeared. We got onto the train headed to Tokyo. I sat next to Hitomi, while poor Kiriyama had to sit next to Shuya and Nobu. I fell asleep as we neared Kyoto.

-Hitomi-

By now it's night time, sending everything into eerie shadows.  
I watch everyone silently as the train drives into a subway tunnel.  
Rin sleeps next to me, her head on my shoulder.  
Kiriyama looks more than uncomfortable sitting next to Nobu and Shuya, leaning away from them.  
Shuya and Nobu keep giggling as they play rock, paper, scissors.  
Some other people on the train are reading newspapers, or just sitting quietly holding suitcases.  
I sat thinking.

How could so much happen in such little time? Our lives appeared normal, and all of a sudden we're thrown into a huge adventure. I remember Rin and I wishing to have something exciting happen, because we were so sick of our boring lives. And now...well, we got it! Just...I wasn't exactly hoping for this. Killing all our classmates? Getting stranded in a town? Working for a retard sushi owner?

My thoughts were interrupted by a voice coming from the intercom.  
"Hello passengers, I ask that you stay calm. The train is having technical difficulties, and there's something wrong with the tracks. We're trying to stop the train but it isn't cooperating. So please-"  
Abruptly I hear screeching coming from the train as it goes off course and bangs into the wall. The impact makes everyone fall out of their seats and onto the floor. The lights start to flicker on and off and everyone starts screaming in panic.

Fear shoots through me, and I feel like I can't move.  
I see Rin full of confusion and surprise, and I clutch onto her as tightly as I can.  
The train keeps screeching as it skids sideways down the long dark tunnel with speed.  
Nobu and Shuya scream along with everyone else.  
"I DON'T WANNA DIE! AHHHHHHH! OH MY GAAAAWD! OH MY GAAAAAAAAAAWD!"  
Kiriyama looks alarmed but somewhat calm, which is normal for him but very strange for any normal person.  
Everything is happening so fast and I'm so afraid I can't scream.  
Rin clutches back to me as afraid as I am. I want more than anything to have all of this to end and be alive.  
As if all this fear isn't enough, I feel a huge boom and the train goes skidding backwards and starts to flip a little.

I suddenly realize we were hit by another train just barely which sends a whole new round of screams.  
The lights go out completely so our only light source is the flickering lights of the train skidding against the wall and tracks.  
Even more fear grabs a hold of me if possible, and I find I can scarcely breathe.  
Rin looks at me, her eyes wild with fear.  
Everything becomes blurry and the screams suddenly become distant.

~~~Unknown time~~~

I awake; my head throbbing with pain.  
The air feels cold. I open my eyes slowly, and at first I have no clue where I am.  
It's pitch black with a flicker of light coming from the wires outside occasionally.  
I see people, bodies, everywhere. There's blood splattered on all of the seats, on the floor…..

Suddenly it hits me, I remember everything.  
The train…the screaming.  
I see Kiriyama a couple of feet away from me lying unconscious on the floor.  
I remember Rin and look abruptly around to find her.  
A small bit of relief fills me when I spot her not too far away, unconscious too.  
I start to crawl over to her but then pain shoots through me. I cry out quietly, and examine my body for the first time.  
There's blood all over my legs; my blood. My arms are scraped and bloodied a bit too. And I fear that my legs are broken, but no matter what I need to get to Rin.  
I use my arms to drag myself over to her, and I put my head to her chest to listen for a heartbeat.

A flood of relief flows through me when I learn that she's still alive.  
I become concerned when I notice the blood on her too.  
I just hope she's okay…..  
I lay next to her for what seemed hours when finally Kiriyama and Rin start coming to consciousness.  
Rin see's me and she puts her arms around me.  
"Hitomi!" she says, and she begins sobbing.  
I hold her back, on the verge of tears myself.  
Why does everything bad happen to us? This train had been making trips back and forth for a long period of time, and it just happened to crash when we boarded. And before we just had the best luck of all getting chosen for that year of Battle Royale. Will it ever end? Why is it always us...? Why…?  
Kiriyama kicks Nobu and Shuya awake.  
"OW! OW! OW!" They practically scream.  
"Shut up!" Kiriyama yells.  
Nobu and Shuya look up and gasp, and start hyperventilating.  
It looks like we're the only ones that survived.  
We all sit silently for awhile.  
I find that I can't stop shaking as I look at all of the people's horrified faces, frozen in fear. I want to scream but I don't.

After a couple more moments of silence Kiriyama get's up.  
"We should go…"  
At this moment I don't feel like going anywhere, but it also sounds inviting to get away from these corpses. Anywhere away from here sounds nice.  
So Rin and I get up as well as Nobu and Shuya.  
"How are we going to be able to see? The tunnel is too dark..." Rin asks.  
"I'll go look for a flashlight...wait here." Kiriyama replies.  
A couple of minutes later he returns, holding a flashlight.  
"Lucky us. The driver had one."  
We all exit out the back door of the train, following after Kiriyama.  
I have to limp to get anywhere; for I find my left leg hurts horribly when I put any weight on it. It's hard to walk, but I make myself go further.  
Rin looks at me with concern, and I give her a faint smile trying to let her know I'm fine, even if that's a lie. I'm the farthest thing from fine right now; I just don't want her to worry.  
And so we descend into the darkness of the tunnel…

-Unknown Person-

That was probably one of the easiest things I've ever done. All I had to do was tamper with the brakes on the trains, pull a lever, and more than 100 people were dead.  
Hopefully, there were no survivors.

-Rin-

As we walk, I feel extreme pain hit me. First of all, my right leg is limping. I have a pounding headache, I'm shaking, and I feel very dizzy. It's hard for me to walk without collapsing, so I'm leaning on Hitomi and Kiriyama.  
In the background, I hear a fuzzy Nobu and Shuya yelling. I feel so weak, I can't speak. I just want to rest…  
I feel like we've been walking for hours, so I decide to ask Hitomi.  
"H-Hitomi…? Where…are…we?" I ask. It feels like all my energy is gone just from trying to speak.  
"I don't exactly know, I-I think we're almost out of the—"  
I don't hear Hitomi finish her sentence because I completely black out.

-Hitomi-

I was supporting Rin when suddenly she want completely limp, and I quickly tried to catch her; but I wasn't fast enough. But right before she hit the ground Kiriyama caught her.  
I sighed with relief.  
"Rin…? Are you okay?" I asked softly, but when I saw her face she looked ill, and seemed to be passed out.  
I gasped and started to panic.  
"We need to take her to an emergency room! Now!" I yelled to Kiriyama.  
He nodded, and we began to run down the tunnel.

We finally emerged, ran out of the subway onto the streets above, and summoned a taxi.  
We all climbed in and told the driver to go to the hospital.  
"RIN! MY BAAAABY! ARE YOU ALRIIIIGHT?!"  
"Shut the FUCK up Nobu!" Yelled Kiriyama in frustration, "This is NOT the time to be a dick!"  
Nobu looked shocked and said, "How was I being a dick? I mean, I know I have one, but…"  
"You are SUCH a moron!" Kiriyama said in disgust, and I heard him mutter under his breath, "Besides it's probably small…"  
I would've laughed, but I was too concerned about Rin.  
I panicked the entire way there, worrying about Rin's safety.  
Finally we got there, and got her to a hospital bed.  
The doctors looked at our own wounds and insisted we get to a bed ourselves.  
We all lay in the hospital beds.  
I remained silent and stared out the nearby window and watched the cherry blossoms float down gracefully to the grass.  
And suddenly unexpected, I felt tears fall. They ran down my cheek like a small stream. I didn't even know why I was crying.  
And before I knew it, the darkness embraced me into a long sleep.

~~~At 6:15pm~~~

I awoke to silence.  
I sat up, looking around at the room.  
Kiriyama sat reading his book again with his glasses in a nearby bed to my left. I looked at the cover of the book curiously and it said, "The Bedside Book Of Bastards"  
I looked at him with both humor and confusion.  
Rin lay unconscious in the bed in front of me.  
I hope she's okay…  
Nobu and Shuya lay TOGETHER in the same small bed cuddling next to each other holding hands.  
I had a sudden suspicion that they were gay, especially after hearing them in bed last night, doing who knows what.  
And why was Nobu suddenly retarded like Shuya too? He was normal before, and now…he was like Shuya!  
I heard Shuya whisper something to Nobu, but I couldn't catch anything except the last part of the sentence which was, "…licking it."  
I gasped quietly with horror. What the HELL were they the talking about?  
"Hehe…I like MUSHROOMS up…MY ASS!" Shuya randomly yelled.  
"Shut the HELL up I'm trying to read!" Kiriyama shouted.  
Shuya instantly froze with fear and started whispering to Nobu again.  
Suddenly a group of people bursted through the door, breaking the silence. They had a news camera and started saying things like, "Are you the survivors?" and, "Was it scary?"  
I sat in total confusion.  
Kiriyama looked extremely pissed because they interrupted his book.

-Rin-

I had been relaxing in my sleep, when I was interrupted by extreme loudness. I woke up, dazed. All I saw were fuzzy figures of news crowds surrounding everyone. They began to swarm over my bed, because I had woken up. The first thing in my mind was, Oh God, I probably look horrible right now. I didn't even want to know. And I was probably going to be on National News. Ugh.

I began to rub my eyes, when the fuzzy figures became clear figures. I groaned, why were they here? I looked for Hitomi, whom I found easily. I gave her a confused look, which she returned. Someone began to rudely interrupt my thoughts.  
"Hello? Were you a survivor of the train wreck?" Multiple microphones were placed in front of me.  
"Uh, y-yes…" I stated.  
"What exactly happened?"  
"All I remember was everyone screaming, and knocking out. We all woke up, and tried walking out of the train station. I blacked out before we got there, though." I said.  
"Oh my, what were your feelings as the crash was happening?"  
"I can't exactly remember, but something along the lines of fear and hoping my best friend, Hitomi, was alright."  
"Well, at least she's doing fine! So, what were your injuries?"  
"Uhm, dizziness, headache, limp in my right leg, scratches and bruises, and feeling shaky."  
"Well, thank you for letting us interview you!" They said with bows. I nodded.  
In the background, I could hear Nobu and Shuya talking about them being heroes. I glared at them, when Nobu caught my glance.  
"Oh! It's Rin! EAHHHHHHH!" He shouted.  
The news cast went to my face, as I have a look of complete confusion.  
"Rin! You're okay! YAYYYYYYYYYY!" He cried, while hugging me. I pushed him off, he was becoming a second Shuya "R-Rin…? W-What are you doing?"  
"Just, please, go away!" I put the blanket over my head. Finally I heard Nobu leave, so I lifted the blankets that were confining me. I went to the bathroom to freshen up. When I first looked into the mirror, I was horrified. I WAS ON TV LIKE THIS?! I groaned, thinking how many cute guys could have been watching. I hurried and fixed my hair.

As I came into the room, the TV was on. I saw the news, and what could it be? Of course, it was us, and currently Kiriyama was being interviewed.  
"So, were you one of the survivors? And if so, what happened?" One of the news cast members questioned.  
"Well, a train happened to crash, if you didn't already know that, and then stuff happened." He calmly explained and then read his book again.  
Next was Hitomi. She looked very confused.  
"What happened on train as it crashed?"  
"Uhh…well…people were screaming and I blacked out…"  
"Anything else?"  
"Not really. What else am I supposed to say? The train crashed."  
"Well thank you so much for letting us interview you!" They said a little too enthusiastically.

They then showed me. I looked much better than I thought, but I had bags under my eyes, and slightly messy hair. I looked very out of it. I laughed really hard when I saw myself!  
Nobu and Shuya suddenly showed on the screen.  
"OH MY GOD! I'M ON TV! EAHHHHH!" They shouted.  
"Hello. So, what exactly happened?"  
"WELLLLL, I told everyone to calm down, but no one listened. YOU KNOW! Hehehheheheheheh." Nobu said. Why were they lying?  
"I then grabbed a child who was crying on the GROUND. I covered it with my body, to save its life! OHHHHHHHHHH!" Shuya boasted. I thought to myself, "If that happened, why were there no baby survivors, Shuya?"  
They rambled on and on, when the people cut them off, they sounded annoyed too.

~~~A Couple of Hours Later~~~

"So, we're leaving at night…right?" I asked.  
"Yeah. Let's head to the Tsuchihara Hotel." Hitomi said.  
"Know the way?" I questioned.  
"Yeah." Kiriyama stated simply.

-Hitomi-

Nighttime eventually came, and we talked in hushed whispers planning our escape.  
"Okay, here's the plan," Kiriyama began, "I'll sneak out into some random closet or something and steal a guy's uniform. Then I'll continue that plan until I find you two uniforms too."  
"What about…them?" I asked, glancing at Shuya and Nobu who were jumping on their bed.  
"What about 'em? We'll just leave them here and hopefully they die of some disease." Replied Kiriyama.  
"Okay, sounds good to me."  
Kiriyama snuck out to the hall, and we got to wait with the annoying Nobu and Shuya.  
"Where did…KIRIYAMA goooo?" asked Shuya.  
"He uh…went to pee." Rin replied.  
"OH! I do that ALL the time! HEHEHEHEHE!"  
Rin and I got really disgusted looks on our faces.  
"…Riiight…"

Eventually Kiriyama came back in a Doctor's outfit, and threw two nurse uniforms on our beds.  
Rin and I grabbed them and looked at Kiriyama.  
"Oh…right." He said, and grabbed Shuya and Nobu into the bathroom with him so they wouldn't look while we changed.  
Rin and I undressed and began putting on the uniforms.  
We heard Shuya yell, "I wanna see!" and began opening the door.  
I hurried and covered myself quickly along with Rin, as Shuya peeked out looking smug.  
"Hey," He said flirtously.  
I change my mind. He's not gay, he's bi.  
Rin and I gave him a death glare, while Kiriyama punched him in the face.  
"You, PERVERT!" Kiriyama yelled with disgust.  
"AHHHH! EEEEAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"  
Kiriyama slammed the door shut. I could hear Shuya whelping out in pain in the bathroom.

Finally Rin and I got the uniforms on.  
Kiriyama came out of the bathroom.  
Rin and I blushed with nervousness; the uniforms showed more cleavage than we thought. But Kiriyama didn't seem to notice though.  
Shuya stared at my revealed cleavage; his face going red.  
"Ahhhhhhh..." He said to himself.  
I ignored him as best as I could.  
We stepped out into the hall, leaving Nobu and a squealing Shuya inside.  
In the end we walked out of the hospital with no problems; none of the doctors or nurses even gave us a glance as we passed them.  
"We made it!" I said happily, doing a mini victory dance.  
"Well we should change before going to the hotel." said Rin.  
"Good idea." I agreed.  
We went to a nearby alleyway, and changed while Kiriyama kept guard.  
We did the same for him.  
Kiriyama lead us to the Tsuchihara hotel, and we stepped inside and ordered our rooms.  
We walked into our hotel room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Gaara the Serial Killer**

-Rin-

As Kiriyama and Hitomi were getting the key, I told them I was going to the bathroom, so Hitomi would text me the room number.  
As I walked out of a stall, I hurried up and did a quick check, to make sure I looked fine. I flipped open my cell phone, and checked the text Hitomi sent me. All I saw was 321. I closed my phone, and ran to the 3rd floor.  
I got to the 3rd floor, turned right, and began to open the door to 321. I then saw a man with duct-tape over his mouth. The only thing in his eyes was complete fear. It looked as if he was begging for help, which I could not give. Suddenly, a shiny, gleamy knife cut his throat, making a waterfall of blood. I gasped, even though I have killed someone, I was still naïve and innocent.

The man fell limp as I froze. I looked up, seeing the culprit of the heinous crime. It was a boy around my age, maybe older. Red hair, jeans and a black T-shirt adorned his body. He looked so…average. I then looked into his icy-blue eyes, confusion and slight hatred flashed through them.  
I finally realized I needed to get out of there, or else I'd be dead too. I ran to my left, and ran to the woman's bathroom. He couldn't get me here – hopefully. I burst into tears in a stall, shaking and shivering. I nervously dialed Hitomi's cell and listened to it ring.  
"Hello?" Hitomi asked.  
"H-Hi! It's Rin. C-Come here, p-please! I'm in the w-woman's bathroom, 3rd floor. Bring K-Kiriyama!" I stuttered with fear.  
"Uhm, okay…" She said.  
I waited for about a minute, and then realized something. That killer's now after me. I can't tell anyone about this…  
"Rin?" Hitomi asked.  
"Yeah?" I said coming out of a stall.  
"What's wrong?"  
"Oh, that! Haha, that was a complete joke!" I lied.  
"Okay…"  
"Where's Kiriyama?" I asked.  
"Outside, I made him stay there, you know, just in case." She stated.  
"Uh-huh."

-Unknown Person/Killer in Rm. 321-

What the hell just happened! Damn it! Now some random girl just saw me kill this guy.  
She looked so familiar…Damn! She's one of the survivors from my train wreck. I'll just have to see what she's up to and make sure she doesn't tell anyone. Somehow I'll make sure that I can get into that group she was with on the TV.

-Rin-

~Next Day~

"Hitomi! I'm leaving to get some groceries, okay?"  
"Okay!" She shouted from afar.  
"Bye Kiriyama!"  
"Bye."  
I then exited the hotel room and left. I began to walk down the street, when I heard a voice in my ear. I froze.  
"I know that you saw me kill that man. I won't kill you if pretend to go along with my plan. Now start to walk so this looks natural." I did as he said.  
"So, meet me at the ramen bar, and act like we are old friends. Bring along your group, too. Then tell them that I have to stay with you guys because we're so close. I'll be making sure you don't tell anyone that I kill people." My eyes went huge, but I kept a cool composure.  
"W-Well then what's your name? I mean, for your plan and all…" I asked with fear.  
"Gaara, what about you?" He said coldly.  
"Rin Omatchi." I said.  
"Good. Now, meet me at the ramen bar tomorrow at 12:05. I'll be there at 12:00, so come in 5-10 minutes, understood?"  
"Y-Yes." I stuttered.  
"I expect you there, or else." He said while leaving, I turned and he waved looking so kind, putting on this facade of his. As I looked closer, I saw how…well, attractive he was. I waved, slightly blushing.  
What am I doing? I'm in love with someone who was threatening to kill me? What's wrong with me…

~Next Day~

"Hey, you guys! You know what sounds good right now?" I asked.  
"WHAT?! EHHAHAHAH!" Shuya shouted.  
"What?" Hitomi asked.  
"Well, doesn't ramen sound DELICIOUS?" I cried.  
"Yeah!" Hitomi shouted.  
So we all walked over to the ramen bar, which I hoped was the right one. I checked my watch, it read 11:59. I breathed in, trying to prepare myself for my little act.  
I looked up, and there he was, sitting on a stool, drinking…sake? I blushed, and bit my tongue to make it go away.  
"G-Gaara? Is that you?" He turned, and his face lit up so much, you would actually believe we were friends.  
"Rin! I can't believe it! I've missed you so much!" He hugged me tight and whispered in my ear, "Remember to act like we're friends." He said coldly. I winced at his harshness, but brushed it off.  
"I know! I haven't seen you for…well, years!" I said.  
Hitomi gave me a strange look.  
"Oh, well this is my very old friend! We haven't seen each other since that one day…" I mumbled.  
"Uh-huh." She said.  
"So, Gaara. Why are you drinking sake? How old are you now?" I said teasingly.  
"Well, 18, but it's too good!"  
"Gaara?! Don't get drunk!" I said accusingly.  
"I won't." He said, smiling.  
I blushed again, and turned making sure he didn't see. "Well, what should we do?"  
"Well, we came for ramen, right?" Kiriyama said.  
"Oh! Oh yeah. Heh heh, well let's order some ramen!" I shouted.  
"Okay." Gaara agreed.  
"STRANGER DANGER! EAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Shuya and Nobu.  
"He's my old friend, remember?" I sigh.  
"R-Rin…I'm sorry…" Nobu said, surprisingly normally.  
"Uhm…" I mutter to myself.

It was an awkward silence. I looked at Gaara, his confused expression looked real. I then ordered a small bowl of ramen, while everyone ordered theirs too.  
"This is some of the best ramen I've ever had!" I said, as I slurped up a ramen noodle.  
"No kidding." Hitomi said.  
"Yeah." Gaara said with a cute smile. I blushed, so to hide it I looked at my ramen, examining every morsel.  
"Rin?! HELLO!" I heard Hitomi shouting at me.  
"W-Wha-?" I said, jumping.  
"You looked really out of it! Just trying to make sure you're still alive." Hitomi stated.  
"Oh, heh sorry! Well, Gaara…where are you staying?" I asked.  
"Drifting along. You?"  
"Staying at the Tsuchihara hotel, wanna stay with us?" I asked, knowing I was required to ask it.  
"If it's not a problem!"  
"Then, you're staying with us!"  
"Thanks Rin!" Gaara cried. He then hugged me, and I felt shivers run through my body.  
"Now, we'll meet tonight, so I can tell you more instructions." Gaara whispered in my ear. I made a slight noise, so he knew I heard him.

~Later at the Hotel~

"Hitomi! Are you gonna change?" I yelled.  
"Yeah!" she yelled back.  
"'Kay, I'm taking the bathroom!"  
"Fine!"  
I walked into the bathroom, undressed and then put on my pajamas. I walked out, my first sight being Kiriyama in his famous boxers.  
"Kiriyama, come on." I said, teasingly.  
"What?"  
"Nothing." I said, rolling my eyes.  
"Rin, come here! I'm in the kitchen! Come here!" Gaara said. I gulped.

I walked over to the kitchen, watching Gaara give me a cold glare.  
"Okay. So far the acting is good."  
"Thanks." I say, more coldly than I want it to.  
"Any hint of you slipping my secret, you're dead."  
"I already know that. What else do you need?" I say, glaring at him. I'm better at acting than I thought!  
"I guess nothing. Don't act so bitchy, just so you know." He says, giving an extra glare.  
"You're one to talk."  
"Oh really? I could kill you anytime."  
"So could I!" I tried not to raise my voice.  
"Go ahead and try."  
"Fine. I have a machine gun."  
"I'd stock up on supplies if I were you." He said.  
"Stop being an asshole to me!" I say, louder than I meant.  
"Rin? What's going on back there?" Hitomi says.  
"Uhm, nothing! We're fighting over who has to make dinner!"  
"Okay…" Hitomi says, confused.  
"Nice, dumbass." Gaara says.  
"Why? Why are you being an asshole to me?" I say, a little of my true self coming out.  
"Why? Maybe because you fucked up my plans, I have to deal with you and you're damn group, and because I hate people, I mean why do you think I kill them?" It hits me like a punch in the stomach. I wince slightly. "Why did you kill him?"  
"The one you saw? Because I was bored."  
I give him a disgusted look and then say, "Okay Gaara, I'll make dinner."  
"Thanks Rin!" he says cheerfully while glaring at me.  
"Leave me alone…" I mutter. He then walks off.

I feel tears stream down my face as I prepare the onigiri and sushi. I sit on the floor, and wonder why I like these assholes. At least Gaara's more normal than Nobu…  
I finish the meal, then set it on the table.  
"Dinner's ready everyone!" I shout. Everyone comes over to the table.  
"Looks delicious!" Says everyone.  
"Thanks!" I smile.  
I sit down, Gaara on my right, Hitomi on my left. I ate as fast as I could, so I wouldn't have to sit by Gaara. I did my dishes, while getting angry at Gaara in my mind. I hear footsteps behind me, so I look up.  
"Hello?"  
"Hey!" It was Hitomi. I sighed with relief, but quiet enough so she wouldn't hear me.  
"Hi! Help with the dishes if you don't mind." I say.  
"Okay!"  
We did dishes for about 5 minutes.  
"Finally we're done!" I exclaim.  
"Yeah!" Hitomi states.

~Next Day~

I decided that I needed to relax, so I felt like going to the famous hot springs.  
"Uhh, Hitomi I'm going out! Uhm, Bye!"  
"Where to?" she said, but I was already out by the time she was done.  
I headed down the street and began to search for the hot springs location. I walked into a store and asked for directions to the hot springs. It was about 25 blocks away.  
I walked out and took a taxi there. When I got there, a beautiful Japanese-style building – mansion basically – stood there towering above me. The sign said in red neon colors: Takagawa Spa. I walked in, and admired the inside.

"Hello! What would you like today?" A woman asked me.  
"Uhm, a hot spring…treatment…uhm well, what do you have…?" I asked nervously.  
"Well, there's the hot springs as you mentioned, which usually takes place at the end, there's massages, there's many other things, just look over there please!" She explained kindly to me.  
"Uhm, just the hot springs please. Thank you!" I say, handing her the money.  
She then lead me to the shower stalls. I undressed, putting them in a locker. I washed thoroughly, and grabbed a see-through kimono and a towel. I walked out into the women's section for hot springs. I slipped into the bath and closed my eyes feeling the heat sink into me.  
After about, oh I don't know, an hour, I left the hot springs. I called for a taxi, and then arrived at the hotel.  
"Uhm, I'm home." I say. I walk up to the kitchen and began to make some onigiri.  
"Rin! Where have you been?" Hitomi says.  
"Hot springs."  
"Lucky!"  
"I know. I'm tired, I'm gonna take a nap. See ya."

-Hitomi-

I walked into the living room where Rin slept soundlessly on the couch.  
I saw for one slight second Gaara watch her with an eerie stare, but it disappeared quickly and was replaced with a smile.  
"Oh, hi."  
I stood in silence for a moment, creeped out.  
"Hi."

I sat down beside Rin and put my head back on the couch, and stared at the ceiling.  
A couple of minutes later I took a quick glance at Gaara.  
There was…something…about him. Something not right. Something…behind that gorgeous smile of his. What was it? And how come Rin never told me about this old 'friend' of hers? Did these two really know each other from their childhood? Rin's not telling us everything…

~A couple of hours later~

I prepared some Las Vegas Rolls for everyone; Rin had been working too hard lately, it was about time someone else made dinner.  
Everyone ate the rolls like there was no tomorrow and retreated off to bed.  
Rin never turned up at dinner.  
I went off to search for her; it wasn't normal for her to skip dinner. I ventured around for awhile when I thought I heard some muffled cries. I followed the sound, which lead me to our bedroom, and found her.

I saw her in the corner of the room by the bed, crying.  
When she saw me she quickly looked away, wiped away her tears, and smiled at me.  
"O-oh uh, h-hey." She said to me, her voice breaking from crying.  
I frowned at her with sadness.  
"Rin? What's wrong?"  
She looked startled to have been found out.  
"What are you talking about? I'm fine."  
"…I noticed you didn't show up for dinner."  
"Oh, I…wasn't hungry."  
I sighed, and said, "If you say so." And grabbed her hand and led her out to the living room. She followed along confused.  
We sat on the couch, and Kiriyama as usual, was reading his book in the nearby armchair in his boxers and glasses.

Gaara walked in and stopped at the closet abruptly. He got a disturbed look on his face.  
"What the HELL are they doing in there?!" He asked.  
"Don't worry they do this all the time." Replied Kiriyama.  
Gaara looked disgusted.  
"What is wrong with them?"  
I got extremely confused. What were they talking about? Rin and I shared confused looks.  
And then what they were talking about became clear as we heard a loud moan come from the closet. It was Nobu and Shuya. Ughhhh.  
"OHHHHH YES! YES! RIGHT THERE! OHHH THAT'S THE SPOT! OHHHH IT FEELS SO GOOD!" We heard Shuya yell, followed by panting.  
Everyone in the room looked very disturbed.  
"What the FUCK?" Gaara said, sounding like he was going to barf.  
Everyone gathered around the closet.  
"OHHHHHH! NOBU YOU NAUGHTY BOY! AH! AH! AHHHHHHHHH!"  
We all exchanged uncomfortable glances.  
"Who's going to open the door…?" I asked, shocked by the moans STILL going on in the closet.  
"No way in hell I'm doing it." Gaara said, folding his arms.  
"Me neither." Kiriyama said afterward.  
"Or me." I said.  
Rin looked like she was going to get stabbed in the face, tortured, and thrown into an abyss of spikes.  
"I don't wanna do it." She said with fear.  
After awhile she finally started to reach for the door handle. Covering her eyes with one hand, she grasped the knob and opened the door.  
But when I opened my eyes it wasn't what I thought I'd see.  
Nobu and Shuya held Barbie dolls in their hands, playing. A mini Barbie grocery store was set and they had the dolls at the cashier. And the best thing of all, they still had their clothes on. I sighed in relief.  
"Why the hell were you two moaning like you were having sex?" asked Gaara in utmost disgust.  
Nobu and Shuya looked and each other.  
"Weeell…Nobu wouldn't put his doll named Cindy at the right spot behind the cashier! He kept moving her around and was being mean! And-"  
Gaara slammed the door shut, and we all went back to our spots on the couches.  
Somehow Shuya didn't notice that we were no longer there, and kept babbling on about what all the 'bad' things Nobu did.  
We ignored him and went to bed, letting him go on with his rant. Why were they so stupid? I laughed to myself and fell asleep.

-Rin-

That was one of the weirdest experiences in my fucking life. What the HELL. Oh well.  
I walked to the bathroom and changed into my P.J's. I walked out and fell into my bed. Jesus, why is this happening to me…? I cried silently to myself and fell asleep.

~Next Day~

I wake up and run into the bathroom and make myself presentable. I grabbed a moon pin and twisted my hair and inserted it into the twisted part. I put on black eyeliner and red eye shadow. I ran to my room again to search for an awesome outfit. I found a short kimono, gothic outfit, and a punk outfit. I chose the punk one.  
It had black and red shorts, a black and white tank top, and combat boots. I had some fingerless gloves that were lacy and black. I also had on a short sleeved jacket that was also black and red. I exited the bathroom and walked into the kitchen. I began to make crêpes when Gaara walked in.

"Do you know that you talk in your sleep?" Gaara said casually. I looked at his face, but no hatred was on it, just… blank.  
"…No." I say, without attitude or anything, just a remark.  
"Well you do."  
"How would you know?" I questioned.  
"I just walked in and heard a few random lines."  
"Like…"  
"I can't remember."  
"Sorry, could you move?" I ask as I move a plate with scrumptious crêpes on them.  
"Yeah."  
I sat down at the kitchen table and began to eat. In the back of my mind I was wondering why he was being nicer than usual.  
"You gonna eat all of the crêpes?" He asks.  
"No, take one."  
"Thanks."  
"What's with the nice attitude?" I bring up calmly.  
"…What do you mean?"  
"You're being nicer than usual."  
"I can't be nice?"  
"Never mind…" I mutter.  
"So, what's going on today?"  
"I don't know." The conversation was getting awkward at this point.  
Thankfully, Hitomi walked in.  
"Hey guys!" she said.  
"Hey!" I say. "So what should we do today?"  
"Hmmm, I don't know…" she mumbles off.  
"Well, we could go swimming, or hot springs."  
"Hot springs! You didn't take me last time." Hitomi says.  
"Okay, sounds fun!" I say cheerfully.

We told everyone we're going there, so we all packed up. We got a taxi and sent it to the Takagawa Spa. We all walked in and paid the money. Hitomi and I walked into the women's section and showered and changed into bathing kimonos – that weren't see-through.  
We walked into the hot springs were it was mixed bathing, and spotted Gaara and Kiriyama. We slipped in and began to relax. Gaara was across from me, and gave me a smile. I smiled back, but half-heartedly. I looked down and sighed.  
Suddenly, Nobu and Shuya burst through the doors.  
"EAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA! Hehehehehehehehhehehe. Okay! We have to like ya know, uhm sit with you! MMMMMM…" Nobu then sat next to me, while Shuya sat next to Hitomi. I swam over to Gaara, my eyes filled with fear.  
Hitomi swam next to Kiriyama, I then laughed.  
"Why'd you guys' moooooooooooove? Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh." says Nobu.  
"Because you're scary." I say simply.  
"NUH UH!"  
"Yes, you are."  
"Mmmm!" Nobu then begins to pout. I rolled my eyes.  
Randomly, Nobu and Shuya begin to drown. God, this is so annoying. I ignored them and began to close my eyes and relax.  
"Oh….EAHAHAH OOOOOOPS. EEEEEEEEEEEEAHHHH. Hey, Rin…..MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM." Nobu swam towards me.  
"Get away!" I cry as I push him under the water.

-Hitomi-

I heard a strange noise from the water, almost like moaning?  
Nobu emerged from the water, awe on his face.  
"Ohhhhh…" He moaned.  
We all stared at him like he was a total freak; which he was.  
"That was the most…heavenly experience…in my life. Oh yes." Nobu said once more.  
"Oh…Rin, she touched me….EHAAAHAHAHA!"  
We all gasped with disturbance. Holy shit! Poor Rin! Rin looked like she was going to barf.

Nobu randomly ran out of the hot springs like a bomb.  
A couple of minutes later, we heard Nobu crying in the next door bath. We all started to laugh silently amongst ourselves.  
Then we heard a new voice; an old man.  
"What's wrong, son?" He asked Nobu.  
"…Well, there's this girl that I like. But she doesn't like me! EAHHHHHHH!"  
"Why not?"  
"I don't know, she always…always pushes me around!"  
"No, I don't think she likes you. But…well, I could be yours."  
"What do you mean? Like, be my slave?"  
"No. Think harder…"  
"So I can sell you?"  
"No."  
"Well I don't know what you mean! EHHHHH!"  
"I'll just have to…show you."  
I could hear the removal of some clothes, and a gasp from Nobu.  
"GET AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! OH!"  
I heard Nobu run away.  
All of us bursted out laughing.  
After awhile, I finally suggested, "Hey, should we get going?"  
"Yeah, probably." Kiriyama agreed.  
So we left back to the apartment, leaving Nobu behind. We also succeeded in tricking Shuya to stay there too. Score!  
We began watching T.V. after we all got cleaned up.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Feelings Emerge**

-Rin-

As we all sat watching the T.V., I decided to get the PS2. I got and began to leave when Gaara said, "Where are you going Rin?" he questioned.  
"You'll see!" I smile and run off to me and Hitomi's room. I hurry and grab the memory card and Tenchu.  
"WHEW!" Hitomi screams.  
"Haha, well, let's play! Okay, we're going to have a tournament! Whoohoo! Okay, Kiriyama and Gaara are up first!"  
Kiriyama had extreme difficulty trying to play, it was hysterical. Gaara had even more trouble, so no one even really died, so Hitomi and I ended up fighting, and it ended with both of us dead.  
"Well, that was…lame." I state simply. "I'm hungry, I'm gunna make some ramen, who wants some?" I ask.  
"Hmm, sounds good I'll have some." Gaara says.  
"Yeah!" Hitomi agrees.  
"I guess…" Kiriyama mumbles.  
"You don't sound very enthusiastic Kiriyama." I say.  
"Hmm? Sorry, just thinking."  
"'Bout what?"  
"…That I suck at video games…"  
"HA…I mean…I'm sorry…" I mumble. "Well, I have some ramen to make!"  
"I'll go with you." Gaara says.  
"Uh, okay." I walk into the kitchen with Gaara following behind me.

-Gaara POV-

~Last Night~

I followed Rin into the kitchen as we were about to make ramen. Rin needed to do something, so she left. I spot the radio, and play it. The song is Dirty Mary. I begin to strip to the beat, and Rin's expression is seductive. After, I say it was to see her reaction, when in reality it's to seduce her. In turn, she begins to strip, but she stops at her bra and panties.

I wake up panting, what the FUCK was that? That was the weirdest dream…I wonder…does it mean…what I think it does…?

~In the kitchen with Rin about to make ramen~

I follow behind Rin, when she says she needs to go do something. She runs off, when I walk into the kitchen I spot the radio, and begin to feel sick. Out of curiosity, I play it. It ends up being Dirty Mary. I scream bloody murder.

-Rin-

As I touch up my make-up, I hear Gaara screaming his lungs out. I hurry and finish, and run to the kitchen.  
"Gaara? Are you okay?" I say, worry in my eyes.  
"Wh-what? No, I-I'ts nothing…" He says. I look at him confused, and turn around. I click the radio on, and it turns out to be Dirty Mary, I laugh, and begin to sing and dance along as I cook.  
Gaara is standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking at me strangely.  
"Uh…what?" I ask.  
"It's just a weird dream I had…never mind…"  
"Alright then." I say. "Are you going to do anything…?" I question.  
"Uh, yeah! What do you want me to do?"  
"Uhm, how about, getting the noodles out while I measure the water."  
"Fine."

As we both cook the ramen, I wonder why he's acting so nice. I mean, before he's always such an asshole…  
"Rin? Hello?"  
"Huh? What?"  
"Ramen's done."  
"Oh, uhm okay. Sorry."  
We bring out the ramen and sit down at the table.  
"DINNER'S READY" I yell. We all sit down and I decide to ask Gaara some questions.  
"So, Gaara, what was that dream you had, why don't you tell us?"  
"It was nothing." Gaara went pale – even for him - for a quick second.  
"I'm growing suspicious, Gaara." Kiriyama says with a smirk. I laugh and smile at Kiriyama.  
"IT WAS ABOUT A DAMN FISH IN THE FUCKING SEA."  
"Calm the hell down, Gaara." I say.  
We finish dinner, so I walk into the bathroom and change. I walk into my room and go to sleep.

-Hitomi-

In the middle of the night Nobu and fucking stupid Shuya came in.  
"WE FOUND IT! HAAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAA!"  
I groaned. I was so sick of them!

-Gaara's POV-

~Unknown Time~

Rin and I walked into the kitchen a second time, to make pancakes. The radio was there, and I turned it on. The song Love Games by Lady Gaga came on. I began to strip like last time, once again to seduce her. I ended up taking off more clothes than last time. But at least I still had my pants on. Rin stripped down as well, but took off her bra and panties. My vision is blurred so I can't see her naked.

Once again, I woke up gasping. HOLY SHIT WHEN WILL THESE DREAMS STOP?!

-Hitomi's POV-

Rin and Gaara went to the kitchen to make breakfast; pancakes. Someone turned on the radio, and Love Games by Lady Gaga came on. Gaara screamed like he was going to die.  
"What's wrong?!" I heard Rin say with concern.  
"Change the fucking song! Before I blow up!"  
"What's wrong with the song?!"  
"It's just…creepy okay?!"  
I heard Rin groan and change it to the next track, Angel's Thanatos from Silent Hill 2.  
"This is much better," Gaara said with relief in his voice.  
"I'm not in the mood for this song." Rin said.  
I ran in the kitchen and said, "I am!"  
Gaara and I high fived. WHOOHOO!  
Rin stared at us like we were retards, and Gaara replied with a look of indifference.

-Rin-

I groaned in annoyance, but decided that I would get to choose the next song. I picked up the pancakes and served everyone except Nobu and Shuya.  
I began to eat the pancakes as everyone began to chat, so I decided to join in.  
"So why do you hate my music so much, Gaara?" I say looking down at my pancakes.  
"They're just really creepy! I mean, seriously, what the fuck."  
"I think it has to do with something more." I say.  
"Ugh, never mind."  
"Why are you being mean?" I say as I look up, sadness in my eyes.  
"What? I just hate your creepy music."

I get up and take my dishes into the kitchen and wash them. I go into the bathroom and put on my make-up and fixed my hair with my hair pin. I walked into my room and took off my P.J's and put on a wa-lolita outfit. The skirt poofed out, and the kimono was red and had black butterflies on it. The obi was black with gold thread. I put on fishnet tights and black geta sandals.  
I walked out and sat on the couch and began to watch South Park. I heard foot steps and Gaara sat next to me.  
"Hey, Hitomi? Wanna go to the mall? I want some new clothes, and while we're at it, we should probably find a job. You too Kiriyama. And…I don't know what you want to do Gaara."  
"I'd love to!" Hitomi says.  
"Sure." Kiriyama says.  
"Uhm…I guess I could get a job." Gaara says.  
"Alright."

After a little bit, we all began to walk around town. Hitomi and I spotted a baker's place. We went in, while Kiriyama and Gaara were stuck together.  
We entered the building and looked around. No one seemed to be around. Suddenly, a man stepped out from the back of the shop and spotted us. He had black hair and brown eyes, nothing to be too excited about, but he wasn't ugly. He looked kind.  
"Hi, we'd like to…uh, get a job here?" I said.  
"Okay, qualifications?"  
"Uhm, we worked at a sushi restaurant…and we learn really fast!" Hitomi cries.

-Hitomi-

We ended up getting the job. Yippie! Kiriyama got a job as a Taxi Driver. Somehow? Haha that'll be interesting. Nobu and Shuya got jobs as Gravediggers. Gaara got a job at McDonald's, which was just weird. Rin and I did our best to hold back our laughs, which we didn't do very well, and that earned us a glare cold as ice from Gaara. He hated kids, he told us.  
"Why did you decide to work at McDonald's then?" I asked, as we all sat on the couch in the living room after our long day.  
"It was one of the few jobs they had open that didn't require experience." Gaara replied.  
"We never went shopping!" Rin said with annoyance.  
"We just, didn't have the time." Gaara said, "The stupid jobs took all day. I thought they would be quick and easy."  
"Well we have to go tomorrow then." Rin said.  
"Okay, okay," Gaara said with a sigh, "Fine."  
"Yay!" Rin said with excitement. She went on auto pilot, and wrapped her arms around Gaara. He gave her a look of confusion and surprise. Maybe I was just seeing things, but I swear on my life I saw him blush a deep crimson before Rin got off of him immediately, also blushing.  
"S-sorry," she said apologetically.  
"I-It's fine." Gaara said nervously.  
"I need to go to the bathroom." Kiriyama said abruptly, and got up, walking into the bathroom. One moment later, we all heard him burst out laughing hysterically.  
Gaara and Rin looked embarrassed, but when Kiriyama laughed, anger took over their expressions.  
"That bastard." Gaara muttered. He needs anger management. Kiriyama came out a few minutes later, which I truly wish he didn't, for his safety, because Gaara lunged at him the moment he was in sight. He chased Kiriyama around the hotel room for awhile.

After several minutes when everyone finally calmed down and sat on the couch, we all laughed it off.  
"Hey, I have an idea!" Rin said with excitement.  
"What?" Everyone asked together.  
"Let's all sleep in the living room and watch a movie! We'll get out the sleeping bags, light the fire, and make smores!"  
"That sounds like fun!" I yelled happily.  
So we all did just that. We roasted our marsh mellows and had delicious smores. At approximately 1:30a.m. we watched Paranormal Activity.  
In the movie, we heard a breathing sound and then a loud bang like someone lifted up a couch and slammed it on the floor.  
Like Rin before, I went on auto pilot and wrapped my arms around Kiriyama out of fear. He looked extremely confused, and I hurried and got off of him, embarrassed. I looked over at Rin, and noticed that she had done the same thing to Gaara. Again.  
By the time the movie was finished, we were so scared and shaking really bad. I glanced at the clock, and it said exactly 3:00a.m. A shiver shot down my spine.  
"Guys…its three o'clock…" I said, my voice shaking.  
Everyone was silent.

Suddenly I made out a faint breathing come from the closet, and a loud slam.  
Everyone began screaming like they were about to die.  
"What was that?! What was that?!" Rin said with fear.  
We all crowded around the closet.  
"Who's going to open the door…?" I said nervously.  
"…I'll do it." Gaara said.  
He slowly turned the handle, and swung open the door.  
Only to find Nobu and Shuya. Playing Barbies. Again.  
"God damn it you retards," Rin said with annoyance, but I heard relief in her voice.  
"Hehe…HI GUYS!" Nobu said happily.  
I saw a scar on his cheek.  
"Go fuck yourself." Gaara said, and slammed the door.  
We began walking away, when Nobu replied, "I already did! Hehe!"  
Rin opened her mouth in a big O.  
"Whaaaaat?" She said, obviously REALLY creeped out.  
"What, that surprises you?" Gaara said to Rin.  
We ignored them and went to sleep.

-Gaara's POV-

I wake up, and slowly open my eyes.  
Rin is on top of me, in my sleeping bag.  
It's nighttime, everyone is still sleeping. The room is dark, and I find myself fascinated at how beautiful she is. And how sexy her body is, how warm it is on top of mine.  
"Gaara…" She whispers, her voice seductive.  
And somehow, it turns me on.  
She unzips my pants, and slips her hand down. I close my eyes and enjoy the moment, and she likes that.  
A shirt comes off, my pants are down, her bra is off…  
And just like that, all of our clothes are off.  
Her skin brushes on mine, her breath on my neck…I can hardly stand it. So erotic…  
She slides down, and I moan in pleasure.

I wake up.  
I'm full of joy, but suddenly I remember what just happened and the shock and horror sinks in. In fact, I don't even know if it really happened or not. But for the love of god, I pray it was just another dream.  
It feels like something is on top of me, something heavy. Like…a person.  
I slowly open my eyes, and the first thing I see makes me start screaming. Rin's cleavage.  
She's wearing a button down shirt that's been unbuttoned somehow. And for a moment, I'm afraid it really did happen.

-Kiriyama POV-

I yawn and sit up. Everyone is still asleep, and I begin to sit and think.  
Suddenly Rin rolls over onto Gaara, still asleep. The roll makes some of the buttons on her shirt come undone, and her breasts end up right in Gaara's face.  
I start laughing quietly, and become curious of how this is going to turn out.  
Moaning escapes Gaara's mouth, and it sounds pleasurable.  
I stare at him with confusion. Why did he just moan?  
I really hope he isn't dreaming about what I think it is…oh god, on second thought, I don't want to know.  
Some minutes later, Gaara opened his eyes. And he started screaming.

Rin jolted awake, and immediately got off of Gaara.  
"Oh my god! I'm so sorry Gaara! I swear, I wasn't-I didn't do anything I promise!" She says apologetically.

-Rin-

I hurry and get off of Gaara, extremely scared and embarrassed. I run into the bathroom, so Gaara doesn't hit me or do something scary. As I'm trying to calm down, I notice me pajamas are, well, uhm…unbuttoned. Maybe three or four buttons, so it shows some cleavage, but not too much. I'm blushing red as I button them up, hopefully no one saw. I really would hate that.  
I exit and run to my room. I hear a door open, and loud screams emit from the bathroom. I giggle, but am confused.

After a bit, I decide to fix myself some breakfast, so I hurry and pour cereal. I hear the bathroom door open, and Gaara looks at me. He hurries and turns around and walks in the opposite direction. I glare at his back thinking, 'what the fuck…?'  
Throughout the day, anytime I saw Gaara, he would ignore me, or try to avoid anything to do with me. It made me feel like complete shit.  
I then realized that we were planning to go shopping. I walked up to Hitomi and told her that we should go shopping. She agreed.  
"What about Gaara?" Hitomi questioned.  
"…" An awkward silence ensued.  
"Well…?"  
"Do I have to go?" Gaara asks from another room.  
"You said you'd go before!" Hitomi states.  
"Ugh. Fine." Gaara complains.  
"Kiriyama…do you want to come?" Hitomi asks nervously.  
"Yeah, I need more boxers."  
"Uhm…" Hitomi blushed and I began to laugh.  
We exit out and get over to Hot Topic and some Asian clothes stores. As Hitomi and I splurge, Kiriyama was searching for new boxers.  
I looked down and finally found the courage to go up to Gaara. I grabbed some awesome goth clothes and went over to Gaara.  
"Uhm, what's your size Gaara? In pants and shirts." I say looking down.  
"Medium."  
"Oh, uh, okay." I say about to walk off.  
"Wait, you're not going to buy me these clothes are you?" He says.  
"Why?" I question.  
"I'm a serial killer! I can't stand out like that!" he says with a hint of anger.  
"Well you haven't killed someone in a long time so you're going to get them! And wear them." With that I walked off and bought everyone clothes, making sure not to touch Kiriyama's boxers.

~~~Later back at the Hotel~~~

As soon as we got home, everyone took their stuff and sat down on the couch. I began to get tired so I fell asleep on the couch.

-Gaara's POV-

I sat on the couch and made sure not to look at Rin. Why was I having such creepy dreams? I hate anything do to with sex. I mean that's disgusting. Is it because she's on my mind more…? How could I even have such disturbing dreams like this?!

-Rin-

After a bit I wake up and everyone is gone. I look around and see the clock. 3:00 a.m. I get really creeped out and try walking towards my room in the dark when I see a tall, dark looming figure before me. I'm barely able to scream, when all of a sudden the lights turn on and it's Gaara looking alarmed.  
But when he notices that it's me, he looks away. I run past him and go to bed, sleeping next to Hitomi.

~~~Next Day~~~

We were all sitting around lazily around the house. There was literally nothing to do. I was really bored.  
I went into the kitchen because I was hungry. I started to make dango with anko paste. It was a special favorite of mine. As soon as I was done, everyone began to wolf down my dish. I tried not to give it to Shuya and Nobu, but I couldn't stop them.  
"This is really good Rin!" Nobu said with his perfect smile. Except, something was wrong…he was talking normally!  
"Uh, thanks…" I said nervously. What was going on?!  
"Where's Noriko? And…who's that?!" He said pointing to Gaara. I stared quizzically at him, and started to realize that he was acting normal. Was he going through amnesia or something?!  
"Uh, Kiriyama killed Noriko; that guy? He's my long-lost friend from my childhood." Nobu's face went pale.  
Suddenly, Kiriyama got up.  
"Where are you going?" I asked.  
"I'm gunna go get my new boxers from the closet. I'm in the mood to read."  
My eyes went as big as saucers, and a deep red blush went across my face. "Uh, good for you….?"

-Kiriyama's POV-

I walk down the hall and open the closet. I look for the boxers, but I find a bottle with strange white liquid inside. It's labeled "Shuya's Potion". I grab it and walk back to the kitchen.  
"What's this Shuya?" I question.  
"OHHHH. THAT….that's what I feed to NOBUUUUUU to make him retarded like me! HEHEHE! If I don't feed him any, he'll be normallllllll ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."  
"I see." I state. Nobu's face looks confused and mortified.  
I went and put the bottle into my room. I hid where no one could find it or get to it. In a locked safe.

-Rin's POV-

I looked at Shuya and Nobu in disgust and fear. Then I began to feel bad for Nobu. I mean Shuya is just so creepy and retarded. And he made Nobu retarded!

~~~8:00 P.M.~~~

It seemed that when Nobu had digested the food, he became retarded again. I even asked Shuya. Kiriyama locked away the bottle, so we were just waiting for the problems to disappear.

~~~1 week later~~~

Nobu's problems weren't disappearing! Kiriyama has gone to investigate.

-Kiriyama's POV-

"Shuya. What is this 'potion' made out of?"  
"You know…..my manliness …if you know what I mean heheheheheheheeeeeeeee!"  
"No, I don't."  
"You, know….it's…white…."  
"Oh god." It seemed that his "manliness" was making Nobu retarded because it was from Shuya.

-Rin's POV-

Kiriyama walked in and told us the news. We all held back vomit. He told us about how he could get shots that could stop Shuya from making more potions.

~~~A Couple Of Days Later~~~

Kiriyama had successfully injected Shuya with the shot. Nobu shouldn't be acting weird anymore – hopefully.

-1 week later-

It seemed that Nobu was acting like a regular human being! YAY!  
We won't have to deal with him at least…ugh.  
Again, it was another boring afternoon, when Hitomi piped up with an awesome idea.  
"We should go to the arcade!"  
"Yeah!" I agree. " Just let everyone get ready, and then we can go, okay?"  
"Okay!"  
I then went to our room and began to choose an outfit. I chose to wear a black tank top with chains, safety pins, and zippers on it. I then put on a black poofy skirt that also had a lot of chains on it. I wore knee-high boots that had the same thing my tank top did. I put on black eye shadow and mascara.  
"Sorry if that took too long!" I apologized.  
"It's fine!" Hitomi responded. We all then left to the arcade. Gaara decided to get a pretzel, so I came along.

-Hitomi-

We all ended up wanting a pretzel, so we went to the nearest restaurant that sold them. We all bought our own, sat down, and began to eat. Shuya didn't bring any money, so he wouldn't shut up and stop asking us if we'd buy him one too.  
"I WAAAAAAANNNNNTTTT a PRETZEL! PLEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAASEEEEEEEEE!"  
"NO AND SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Gaara yelled with extreme annoyance and anger. Shuya looked deathly afraid.  
"O-o-o-o-o-h o-o-o-kay!" Shuya said, stuttering with fear.  
"Ugh…" Gaara said, rolling his eyes.  
We continued eating, it was delicious!  
"So, Gaara, just mere curiosity, but how did you and Rin meet?" Kiriyama asked, quite unexpectedly and suddenly.  
"Oh, umm…I can't remember, it was so long ago." Rin says. Kiriyama is silent, unbelieving.

Gaara starts talking, "Well, I just happened to be walking in the park, when I heard a girl's scream in the distance. I ran towards it, curious. Rin was there, getting beat up by a couple of bullies. So, acting on instinct, I ran to save her. As awesome as I am, I beat them all up easily, and helped Rin up. So we just ended up becoming friends. But sadly, I had to move. So we ended up losing connection. Until now! We recognized each other at the Ramen shop here."

-Kiriyama POV-

What the fuck?  
"Umm…no offense Gaara, but you strike me as more of a bully than a good guy saving little girls." I said, looking skeptically.  
"Well I DID as a matter of fact!" Gaara replied, getting angry.  
"Calm the hell down. Sheesh…" I mutter, "It was a simple statement. No need to overreact."  
"Whatever." Gaara says with annoyance, and gets up and leaves.  
"Who peed in his Cheerios?" Rin asks, and we all laugh. Gaara hears, and gives us all a death glare. I just grin smugly at him, pissing him off more.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Gaara's Heart Grows**

-Hitomi's POV-

"I WANT A PRETZEL. PLEASE? ANYONE?" Shuya yells. Again.  
"We're done eating now, so, no." I reply.  
"PLEAAAASE HITOMI! I'LL DO ANYTHING!"  
"Does that include dying in a fucking hole?" I said, annoyed.  
He looks at me with confusion, and says, "Whaaaaat? What does THAT mean?"  
I ignore him and catch up to everyone walking out. I glance back as Shuya screams, "I WANT A PRETZEL DAMN IT! EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" as two police guards take him away and throw him out.

We arrive at the arcade, and buy our tickets. We all head over to where Dance Dance Revolution is. Rin and I let the rookies go first; Kiriyama, Gaara, and Nobu, all of them on beginner. Nobu get's a D, decent enough. Kiriyama get's a C, best so far. Gaara get's an E, which makes Rin and I stifle a laugh.  
"What's so funny?" Gaara says coldly, looking at us glaring.  
"Uhm, nothing…" Rin says, as we cover our mouths to hide the mischievous grins.  
Rin and I walk up to the two mats, and say, "Watch the masters." We go on the hardest difficulty, choose a really hard song, and show off our skills. This was a game Rin and I played in our spare time, back in the good ol' days, so we've had a lot of time to perfect our skills. At the end of the song, we both have an AA.  
"Wow! You're really good!" Nobu says, surprised.  
"How is this fun?!" Gaara complains.  
Kiriyama leans over to Rin, whispering loud enough for Gaara to hear, "Is he PMS'ing?"  
"WHAT did you say?!" Gaara yells angrily, "I'm not a god damn girl!"  
"Well you sure act like one." Kiriyama says calmly.  
"That's it. You, me. At the shooting games. I'm gonna kill you!"  
Kiriyama laughs, "It'll be an easy win."  
We all follow Gaara and Kiriyama to the gunner games. There's a large crowd of guys around one game specifically, and there's a big line to play and everyone's watching the players.

At first, we wait in the line patiently. The players shoot like idiots, and are clearly amateurs. But Gaara is in no mood to wait, and Kiriyama pushes through the line and says, "I'm gonna show you how the real masters play. Let me show you all how it's done." He says smugly. Cocky much?  
Gaara acts as if this game depends on his life. He focuses intently, but is too panicky, and Kiriyama acts quickly, shooting him down easily.  
"Damn..." Gaara mutters, as his character dies.  
The battle gets more intense, and all the guys around us watch intently. I wonder if all the guys surrounding them are taking notes on their techniques, since clearly their own don't work. Kiriyama wins the game, three to zero. I can see the anger building up in Gaara's face, his whole expression turned into hate.  
"Well, well, well, look who's the champion now." Kiriyama says, smiling with satisfaction.  
Suddenly Gaara's arm raises, with the fake gun, and hits Kiriyama in the head, "You BASTARD!"  
Kiriyama stumbles back; his hand on his head. "What the FUCK is your problem?!" He yells in outrage.  
Rin and I run up to Kiriyama, and ask with concern, "Are you okay?" as we glare at Gaara.

A crowd has surrounded us.  
"Uh…yeah." Kiriyama replies, still wincing in pain. A tiny bead of blood runs down his head.  
Rin and I gasp together.  
"We need some bandages!" Rin yells. She runs and gets some.  
The owner walks over to Gaara, who's glaring at us with pure hatred.  
"Sir, we're going to have to ask you to leave. If you fail to do so, you're going to have to come with us." In other words, leave or you're going to take a trip to the police station.  
Gaara scowls at the owner, and starts walking away, much to the owner's relief.  
Rin hands me some tissues and the bandages. "Take care of Kiriyama for a second, I'll be right back." She runs over to Gaara. She's not too far away, so I can hear their conversation from here.

"Do you want a ride home?" She says with concern.  
He looks at her, thinking it appears, and he glares again and says, "No. And since when was it my home? You know why I'm sticking around you pathetic people, Rin."  
I have no clue what he means, and just like that, he leaves Rin standing there in confusion. She turns away, appearing sad, and walks over to Nobu. I take one last glance at Gaara. He's staring at Rin and Nobu in envy, sadness with a mix of jealousy in his eyes. But then he turns away, and walks out.  
Does Gaara like Rin?

-Rin-

After Gaara rudely denied my offer, I went over to Nobu. I mean, I did like him in the beginning, right? He was cute, normal, and sweet! That's it. It's official: I like Nobu!  
Anyways, I went over to Nobu and began to talk lightly about nothing in particular. I lead him over to Kiriyama, so we could check on him.  
"Kiriyama…? Are you okay?" I asked, worried.  
"Yeah. As long as Gaara got in trouble, I'm fine." We all laughed and then decided to go back home. Along the way, we also thought that getting some food sounded nice, too. But, we noticed an old creepy man walking around, so we hid on the floor of our car.  
Kiriyama, thinking it would be funny, stayed in his seat, honking the horn. The old, decrepit man walked over slowly.  
"What are you kids doing?" he said angrily.  
"Getting food." Kiriyama replied lightly.  
"Well, please, stop making out in the parking lot with your girlfriends, it's really inappropriate."  
"We weren't making out with our 'girlfriends'." Kiriyama said.  
The old man glared at us and then walked away. I could feel my face flush at the thought of being with Nobu.

~~~Back Home~~~

We arrived around 11:00 P.M., and since we skipped on the food, Hitomi and I began to cook some yummy dango. After we finish, we enter into the living room, while the T.V. is on. I look at Hitomi, and wonder if I should go and turn it off. We peek over and see vibrant red hair. It was Gaara, whew…that was scary!  
Nobu then leaned towards me and whispered, "Is Gaara watching a romance?"  
I began to laugh a little too hard and loud, so Gaara immediately turned around and asked coldly, "What's so funny?!"  
"Uhm, something Nobu said." I nervously say.  
"What?!" Gaara says angrily.  
"Uhm, he said…a really funny joke!" I lie.  
"I did?" Nobu questions.  
"Yes!" I say, making sure he realizes that Gaara will get even if he knows what he said in reality.

Gaara raises an eyebrow, and turns back to the screen. He seems to be in a bad mood, and no matter how mean he is to me, I still like him…but I like Nobu more…it's just so confusing…Ughhhh.  
I felt bad, so I climbed over the couch and sat next to Gaara.  
"So, watcha' watching?" I ask.  
"I don't know, I think it's called 50 First Dates or something like that." He replies, slightly kinder, but hardly.  
"Why are you watching that…?"  
"Only thing you guys have."  
"Mm-Hm…" I say, trying to act like I believe him. In fact, we had plenty of other, non-romantic, movies.  
"Well I'm going to take a nice, long shower. And then I'm going to go to bed." I get and go take a shower, and enter our room. Hitomi is sitting on the bed, reading.  
"Hey, Hitomi…I gotta tell you something."  
"Yeah?"  
I then tell her how I like Nobu now, and she completely understands. I then collapse on the bed, completely tired out.

~~~Next Day~~~

Everyone was sitting lazily in the living room after eating pancakes. I was about to start listing ideas, when Hitomi immediately decided to speak.  
"Hey, uh sorry Rin, Kiriyama, Gaara, and I all have to go to this place…so we gotta go…uhm, bye!" She hurried and dragged Gaara and Kiriyama out of the house.  
I looked at Nobu and said, "Uhm, what do we do now…?"

-Hitomi-

"Where are you taking us?" Gaara asks, confused.  
"Uhh somewhere." I reply, nervous.  
I was giving Rin and Nobu some time alone. She liked him, and well, she felt like they didn't spend enough time together. Especially alone to get closer! Not in a creepy way, but to get to know each other and talk. So I was doing her a favor, and getting everyone else out of the house.  
But now for the difficult part; keeping them out of the house for several hours without telling them the real reason I was doing this.

I took them to the grocery store. I couldn't think of anywhere else to go!  
Gaara looks at me weirdly, "The grocery store?"  
"Um yeah. I thought it'd be easier to shop for food if you two were here, that way you guys could choose what you want.  
"We could've just made you a list." Gaara replies, clearly annoyed.  
"Ohh well, you're already here, so, might as well stay." I say with a nervous smile.  
Gaara scowls at me. Kiriyama appears to not mind.  
So we begin shopping, and buy some random supplies of food.  
We finish, and I don't know where to go next.  
"Well, I'm gonna go. My boxers have been chewed, and I think Shuya has been eating them. So I'm going to shop for some new ones."  
"Uhh…okay." I reply. What is wrong with Shuya?!  
"Then I'm going home after." Kiriyama continued.  
"No, no! Uhm, you can't, not yet."  
Kiriyama and Gaara stare at me weirdly, "Why?"  
"Because uh, you can't! Here, if I get you a present, will you not go home until at least 6:00p.m.?" I ask, trying anything to get them to stay away from home. Why was this so hard?  
"…Sure." Kiriyama replies, with a look that says W.T.F.?  
"Great! It'll be sitting on your bed when you get home!" I say with a smile.  
Kiriyama walks away, scratching his head, as if thinking "What was that about?"  
So now, I was left alone with Gaara. Hope this goes well. I had to say something, come up with anything to not go home.  
"Hey, now that we're out, we should do something fun." I say. It's all that comes to mind, no matter how weird it sounds to suggest hanging out alone with Gaara.  
Gaara stares at me with confusion, thinking it appeared.  
"How about some coffee?" I suggest, hoping he'll cooperate.  
"…You're a horrible liar, and you make it so utterly obvious you're avoiding us going back to the house. But fine, I'll go." He finally says.  
I sigh in relief, and laugh, saying, "Thanks." As we walk to the coffee shop.

-Rin-

"Well, does coffee sound good to you?" Nobu asks.  
"Uhm, yeah!" I smile at Nobu and begin to gather my purse. We head out, get into the car, and drive to Starbucks. We enter and order, I get a Chai Frappachino. Nobu orders a Green Tea Latte. We then sit at a secluded table by the window, and begin to chat.

-Hitomi-

Gaara and I arrive at Starbucks. I swing open the door, and do a quick scan of everyone in the room. I spot Nobu and Rin chatting and sipping coffee not too far away, and I freeze to the spot.  
So I start to push Gaara out of the Starbucks.  
"I uh just remembered that I wanted to try a new coffee shop around here, and I accidently came here! Oops!" I say.  
"What's wrong with this place?" Gaara asks.  
"Nothing. I just wanna try a different place." I lie.  
"Can we just hurry up and get some coffee?"  
So we start walking, and there's no avoiding it, but we pass the window Nobu and Rin are by.  
After a few steps, Gaara stops in his tracks.  
"Wait…was that who I thought it was?" He asks.  
"No! It was just some random people drinking coffee! Lets keep walking." I say speedily, nervous.  
"Wait, but how do you know what I'm talking about?"  
"I took a wild guess! C'mon!" I usher him to keep walking.  
"O…kay…" He says, and keeps walking, to my relief.  
Now there's a new problem; I don't know of any other coffee shops around here. Where will I go?  
So we end up taking random turns for awhile, and walking around in a place I don't even know. And now, I'm lost.

-Rin-

We sit and drink our coffee, and we decide to go to a beautiful Japanese garden where cherry blossoms are in bloom and waterfall in the background.  
We arrive, and we are completely…alone. We're standing on a Japanese-style bridge…and we both begin to lean in…

-Hitomi-

To my relief, I find a coffee shop around the next corner. Gaara and I walk in, and order our drinks. After, we both sit down. An awkward silence follows as we quietly sip our coffee…  
"This coffee isn't as good as Starbucks." Gaara says bitterly.  
"Well, sorry…I didn't know this place wasn't that good." I apologize.  
Gaara sighs, and says, "It's fine."

I have nothing better to say, I'm curious about it anyway, so I ask, "Gaara, you seem troubled lately."  
He's silent; his eyes looking at me suspiciously, "Do I?" He says, almost coldly.  
"Uh…yeah." I say, the atmosphere feeling very uncomfortable.  
"How so?"  
"Well…the way you looked at Rin and Nobu last night. You seemed very bothered. Almost…jealous." I say with amusement.  
Gaara gawks at me, "Really? Jealous? Of them? You've got to be kidding."  
"Well, no…I'm not joking around." I say, almost annoyed. Why do guys always avoid the truth? But why would he tell someone like me anyway? Especially since I'm Rin's best friend and all too.  
Gaara looks me over, pondering it appeared. After several moments, Gaara finally speaks.  
"Okay fine. Maybe I was a little jealous." He admits.  
"…Really? So…you like Rin? In that way?" I ask, surprised. I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from him.  
"Not in a creepy way, but, yeah…I guess I do…kind of like her."  
"Oh..."  
"…Yeah."  
"I see."  
"Mm Hm."  
Man was this getting awkward! "So…is that why you despise Nobu?"  
"I guess so, yeah." He suddenly looked at me with a plea in his eyes. "I like her a lot…I didn't think I could ever like anyone in this way…but I do. And I get so jealous when I see them together. It makes me feel so angry, and weak. I want her to like me, but, I guess I've really treated her shitty so she seems to hate me. That's really my fault though. I would be rude to hide that I liked her. I've been nice to her lately, but I guess I'm just too late…"

I was very surprised at the sudden honesty Gaara was sharing with me. It seemed unlike him. But either way, I was grateful for it.  
"Don't worry, I understand that feeling too. You're not alone. Back when we were still going to school, I liked a boy…he was always with this girl I hated. But he was nice to me, when no one was around anyway. I was jealous that he was always paying attention to the girl I hated, and I liked him a lot…All well, it doesn't matter. You probably don't really care anyway."  
"No, I do. Maybe I give the wrong impression sometimes. Okay maybe a lot. But I really do care." With the look on his face, he seemed to be telling the truth.  
"Alright, if you say so." I said, smiling.  
"So…who was it? The boy you liked at our old school? I mean, if you don't mind telling me.

I was hesitant, but I decided with what he had admitted to me today, he deserved to know. "Koji. Koji Tatsumura."  
"I don't know him, but, okay."  
We both continued to drink some of our coffee.  
"So what should I do about Rin? I want her to like me. But I'm afraid it's too late now that she is so fond of Nobu." Gaara said, with a scowl.  
"Well, maybe I could talk to her for you. Maybe convince her you're actually really awesome and she'd like you if she got to know you. Which is true."  
"You'd really do that for me?" Gaara said, very surprised.  
"Yeah, sure. Now that we've gotten to know each other a little bit, I think you're actually a pretty good guy."  
"Uhm…this is hard for me to say, but…thanks."  
"Any time." I said with a smirk.

-Rin-

We kiss beside the cherry blossoms and waterfall. It's wonderful, and we linger at the area. After a bit, we head home and make fun of "High School Musical". What is wrong with that show?

We finish the movie and decide to go out and eat with everyone – excluding Shuya. Nobu was talking about a restaurant he found recently called "The Stingray". Apparently, it has a see-through floor with fishes swimming under you! I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Hitomi's number.  
"Hey, wanna go out to eat?"  
"Uh, sure…what place?"  
"It's called Stingray."  
"Oh, okay. See you later, bye!" I hang up and tell Nobu we can go to Stingray.  
About 15 minutes later, Gaara comes home, with Hitomi following. They were hanging out? That's strange.  
"Who's paying?" I question.  
"Shuya just got paid." Kiriyama comments from the background.  
"He has a job?" I ask.  
"Yup, he's a gravedigger." He smiles. I head into Shuya's room with everyone following behind me. I easily find the money, because Shuya is standing there holding the money.  
"Uh, hey Shuya. Can we take that money?" I ask awkwardly.  
"SURE HEHEHEHEHEHE." He hands us a couple of hundred dollar bills. That was…weird.

We all get into the car and drive to the sushi restaurant. We enter the building and…there's the fishies! I start to bend down and talk to them. "Hello, Mr. Fishy! You're blue and have black spots! Haha! There's a stingray! It's cute…" In the background, I hear Gaara mutter something.

-Hitomi-

I hear Gaara mutter beside me, "Why do I like her again?"  
I hold back a laugh. But I agree with Rin, the fishies are cute!

-Rin-

Nobu pulls me up because a waiter is standing there giving me strange looks. He gives me one last weird look, and seats us. I laugh and look at the menu. I decide on miso soup, vegetable tempura, and some rice. I also have coke with it. Everyone orders and silence ensues.  
"So how's it going?" I ask, desperate for conversation.  
"Good." Everyone answers. God, these people.  
Randomly, the door slams open. I look over, and Shuya stands there with his hair in a ponytail in front of his face.  
He screams, "EH-THE DEMONS…THEY'RE COMING!" and, he runs out. What the fuck just happened? Everyone is completely silent as we sit in shock. He is so fucked up.

About 10 minutes later, our food arrives. I dig into my delicious miso soup. Everyone is eating their food, when Nobu smiles at me. I smile back, and he abruptly kisses me. I blush, when suddenly I see a flying fork go into the floor, where the fishies are! I gasp, and look down at the floor. It's flooding. What the hell just happened? I look around for the person who threw the fork, but I can't see any suspect. As I'm scanning for suspects, I see a staff member run to the scene. He starts to clean up the mess of fish when I hear people say, "Gaara, what the fuck is wrong with you?" It's Kiriyama looking very pissed off at Gaara.  
"What just happened…?" I ask.  
"Uh, it was an accident!" I hear Gaara cry.  
"Are you fucking kidding me? I saw you THROW that fork." Kiriyama shouts.  
"I wouldn't expect you to understand." Gaara mutters.  
"My god, what if we have to pay for the damage…what are we going to do?" Kiriyama rants on angrily.  
"Oh, do not worry! We pay, yes!" Some random-ass staff member starts talking to us. "These things happen, yes. It's happened more than 1 times!"  
"Then, shouldn't you replace the glass?" Kiriyama questions.  
"No…no…Money sparse, yes?" He nods his head.  
After the incident, we leave and go back to our hotel room. Hitomi apparently forgot something in the lobby, so she is going back down.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Hottie from the Past**

-Hitomi-

I forgot my jacket back down at the lobby, so I began walking back to fetch it.  
I pick up my jacket on the chair, and look up. Suddenly I see a boy that looks familiar, reading a newspaper. He's a small distance away, and I look closely at him to see what's so familiar about him. And then it hits me. It's Koji! He was in the Battle Royale tournament. He survived?!  
He was the guy I liked back then…  
I didn't know what to do. Should I go up and talk to him? Or should I pretend I never saw him and hurry and leave? But before I even decide, he notices me.

"Hitomi?!"  
"Oh, umm…hello!"  
"You're alive!"  
"Yeah…you are too!"  
"Well, yeah…I found a way to escape the island. That's how I'm here. What about you? Did you win? Is that how you're still alive?"  
"No, no…I found a way to escape too. Some boats that were left on the beach."

I'm so surprised that Koji is here. I thought he was dead! What a very large coincidence that we ended up at the exact same hotel. He seems happy to see me. He always seemed to ignore me at school, particularly in front of his friends. But when no one was around, he was very kind to me. He walked me home a couple of times. But when he was seen with me, he stopped. It made me upset. I liked him so much. He's very attractive, and he's funny and a bit flirty. He can be serious when he needs to be, and is sweet. When no one is around anyway. But I'm very glad he survived!

He has black spiky hair with red strips in it. He's pale, and has a mischievous smile.  
"Anyway, how are you?" Koji asks, smirking at me.  
"Oh, I'm doing pretty well." I reply, blushing at his seductive smile.  
"That's great. Really. I'm glad you're alive. Did you escape alone? Because I did."  
"No. I escaped with Rin, Nobu, Kiriyama, and sadly Shuya. We've found one of Rin's old friends along the way too. So we have quite the group." I explain.  
"I see…"  
"So, where are you staying? Here?" I ask.  
"Oh…no where at the moment. I don't have any money. I just came in here to read the paper. So far I've been lucky as to not be wanted. No news of my escape. Or yours." Koji replied.  
"Oh, that's good I suppose. But if you don't have anywhere to stay…we have room for another person." I offered, smiling, trying to be nice.  
"Oh that's very generous of you! I…I don't know if I want to put that on your shoulders. I'd only be wasting your time and money."  
"No, really. It wouldn't be a problem, I promise. Besides, I'd enjoy your company." I reassured him.  
"What about the other people staying with you? Wouldn't they mind?"  
"No. I'm sure they'd be totally fine with it. Besides, when Rin found her old friend, Gaara, they let him join without question. I'm sure they'll do the same for you."  
"If you say so."

We left the lobby, and we returned to our hotel room; which was king size since of our large group. Four bedrooms, four bathrooms, one living room, and one kitchen.  
"You're back Hitomi! What took so long? And-" Rin abruptly stops when she sees Koji. "K-Koji?!"  
"Hey." Koji says casually.  
Everyone else gathers around to take in the sight of the new visitor.  
"I found Koji in the lobby. He escaped from the Battle Royale tournament. He doesn't have anywhere to stay, so I thought we could offer him some hospitality."  
"Battle Royale tournament? What are you talking about?" Gaara asks, oblivious to everything that's happened.  
"Since you don't already know, Gaara, we were the chosen class for Battle Royale this year." I explained for Gaara's sake.  
"But then you all of you should be dead! No one but one person survives that tournament." Gaara announces, confused.  
"There is such a thing as escaping." I say simply.  
Gaara goes silent.  
"Anyway, would that be alright?" I ask everyone, looking around at all of their faces.  
"I…I guess." Rin replies.  
"How do we know he can be trusted?" Kiriyama asks, eyeing Koji suspiciously.  
"Look, he's my friend. I knew him before at our old school." This doesn't seem to satisfy everyone in the room. I sigh, and say, "Even if he did tell the authorities where we are and that we escaped from the island, he's also someone who escaped too. He'd basically be turning himself in as well." This satisfies everyone.  
"Alright, fine." Kiriyama says after a moment of consideration.  
"Hey, I know you!" Koji suddenly says, looking at Kiriyama.  
"Uh, yeah…I was in your class." Kiriyama replies like Koji is stupid.  
"Well obviously. But you tried to shoot me in the tournament and missed! I could've died!" Koji explains.  
"…Well, what can you expect? It was part of the game, and I just wanted to go home." Kiriyama says.  
Koji sighs, "Well anyway, I have to thank you for killing Tomoko." Koji smirks.  
"…Um, you're welcome?"  
"Anyway, where will he sleep?" I ask, changing the subject.  
"Well the closet is occupied by Shuya. Since he's new, he should get his own room. If you don't mind Gaara…could he share your room with you? There are even two beds." I ask nervously.  
Gaara scowls at me, "Make him move in with Nobu."  
I make one more desperate plea, "Please?"  
Gaara only glares, and looks away.  
"Well that settles that then…"  
Everyone walks away, and I hear Gaara mutter, "I had no idea they were the chosen class for Battle Royale…"  
"I'll show you the rooms and stuff." I tell Koji.  
"Okay."

-Rin-

Hitomi leaves and shows Koji the rest of the rooms while the rest of us are left in awkward silence. And to think that Gaara is letting Koji in with him! What made him do that?!  
It's getting late, so I hurry and change into my P.J's. Lately, I've been feeling really bad for Gaara. He seems to be stressed. I'll try to be better.

~Next Day~

I wake up early, and hurry and change into a pretty red Lolita outfit with a white frilly apron. I'm in a good mood, so I go into the kitchen to make everyone breakfast. I start making crepes, and I place them all around the table.  
Gaara's the first to enter, and he looks like he's pissed.  
"Hey! I-I made crepes for everyone." I say, trying to be nice to him.  
"Oh, thanks." He says, bored.  
Then Koji comes out, he looks pretty happy. "Hey, Rin!"  
"Hello!" I smile.  
"Oh, thanks for the crepes, they look delicious!" He says.  
Then, Kiriyama, Hitomi and Nobu follow. Lastly, Shuya comes in with a video camera and recorder. What the…  
"Hey, Gaara." Shuya says, trying to be seductive. He pulls out the recorder and video camera and plays "Funky", just for Gaara while filming him eat.

I look at Gaara, and he has bags under his eyes, poor Gaara. Although, it is pretty funny. Everyone finishes eating and I clean up all of the dishes.  
Koji leaves, and suddenly I hear, "OH MY GOD GAARA! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"  
"What are you talking about?!" Gaara says, clearly annoyed. He goes to their room and he starts screaming, "OH MY FUCKING GOD! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"  
I hurry and enter their room to see what the fuss is all about, and I see a mortifying picture: Shuya…in a Speedo. I cover my mouth for two reasons, one for laughing, and the other for disgust. Gaara rips the picture off and runs out to Shuya.  
"What is THIS?" He shouts.  
"Oh, Gaara, so, you have feelings for me too? I never knew, OHHHH!"  
"Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm straight, just ask Hitomi!"  
"W-Wait, you…you cheated on me?" Shuya bursts into tears, and I'm holding back laughter.  
Gaara groans and leaves. Wait – hold on. He said, "Just ask Hitomi", does he like her? Hmm.

I go to Hitomi's room, and I ask, "So, do you think Gaara likes you?"  
"What? No! Why would you say that?" She says.  
"Well…" I explain the previous scene to Hitomi, and she looks confused.  
"I don't know what he's talking about." She looks sincere, so I take my leave.  
As I enter into the living room, I almost faint. Randomly, there is a stripper pole and a disco ball. It's dark, but light enough to see Shuya in a bondage outfit. He's pole dancing to "Dirty Mary". Oh…God…  
While this is going on, Koji is completely shocked, and has his mouth open. He mutters. "What the fuck is wrong with this group…?"  
And in the background, Kiriyama is laughing his ass off.  
Gaara, who has had practice ignoring Shuya, is watching South Park. Shuya realizing that he is being ignored, sits down next to Gaara. He puts his hand on his knee and is slowly going up to his…uhm, you know. Gaara smacks his hand off, and tells him to knock it off. Shuya tries again, and Gaara does the same thing. He then flips his hair, and lightly touches his cheek. Gaara then punches Shuya in the face and tells him to shut the fuck up. Shuya then cries and runs off.  
In the awkwardness, I sit next to Gaara, and we sit watching T.V. for a bit.

~Later~

"I'm bored. Let's go to a tea house!" Hitomi says, coming out of nowhere.  
"Okay! Sounds like fun!" I leave and get into a simple black kimono, dark grey obi and geta sandals. Hitomi is wearing a red Gothic Lolita jumper with red Mary Janes. Gaara decides to wear black skinny jeans, a black t-shirt with punk designs on it. Koji is wearing blue skinny jeans, studded belts, and a black t-shirt with the Japanese character of blood, also some converse shoes. Kiriyama is wearing his normal attire of jeans and t-shirt. Nobu was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. They are so creative.  
We leave to the tea house and exit. Shuya pops out of the trunk and is wearing that bondage outfit. Oh God. We enter the building. We take off our shoes, but Gaara doesn't seem to like this rule.  
"Why the hell should I have to take off my shoes?" He starts complaining. He starts to make a bigger scene, and employees come out.  
"Sir, can you please exit? You are causing a scene."  
"Oh, really? I'm causing a scene?! How about this?!" He grabs a beautiful tea cup, and throws it to the floor. It shatters into a million pieces, and I'm in shock. How could he do this? What is wrong with him?  
Gaara leaves, along with Shuya, into the car.  
We all then enter a beautiful room and we are all having a wonderful time sipping tea.

-Gaara-

After I threw a fit, I left with Shuya trailing behind me. We enter the car and I'm alone with him. Fuck.  
"So, Gaara. Now, we're alone…Mmm, what do you want to do…?"  
"Kill you."  
"Don't play hard to get! Come on, you know you want me." He starts leaning in for a kiss and I throw him out of the car and lock it up.

-Hitomi-

"Is he always like that?" Koji asks everyone at the table.  
"Yeah, pretty much." We all reply.  
We all continue sipping our tea. I feel sort of bad for Gaara, especially since Shuya has been flirting with him non-stop lately, and I'm sure it's frustrating that Nobu and Rin are together now. So that probably explains Gaara's little scene before because he was so mad and was holding a lot of anger in; even if he did overreact quite a bit.  
We finish our tea, and we decide we'll go see a movie; there is litterly nothing else to do these days.

We walk out to our car, and Shuya is feeling himself up for Gaara it appeared, and rubbing his butt in slow circular motions up to the window as Gaara does his best to ignore him. What the hell?  
We hurry and get in the car and drive off before Shuya gets a chance to get in.  
We can hear Shuya screaming, "Come back! EHHHHHHH!"  
Our options of movies to see were: Poo in my shoe. My wedding stinks ass. My butt has warts. Lastly, Eclipse.  
What a strange selection of movies…so we choose Eclipse.  
It's very dramatic and shows Edward and Bella, and how much they love each other. The move ends and it was a horrible show.  
I look down our row towards the exit, and I see Gaara; his cheeks look wet.  
"Are you crying Gaara?" Kiriyama says with much amusement.  
Gaara hurries and wipes his eyes, "No! What are you talking about?!"  
"Your cheeks and eyes are wet." Kiriyama states matter-of-factly.  
"I had something in my eye dumbass." Gaara glares.  
"Suuure." Kiriyama says sarcastically.  
"It's true!"  
"Don't waste your breath and admit it."  
"No!"  
"Wow, you're a pussy." Kiriyama laughs.  
"Kiriyama!" Rin gasps.  
We all leave the theatre, go home, and go our separate ways.

-Koji-

Gaara and I head into our room. I sit on the bed, and he pouts in the armchair.  
"I sometimes cry during movies too." I say simply, smiling.  
"I DIDN'T cry!" Gaara yells.  
He needs anger management.  
"I cried watching "The Fox and the Hound" not too long ago." I laugh.  
Gaara stays silent, finally not denying he cried but also not admitting it either.  
Nightfall came, and we were all very bored.  
"Let's play Ghost in the Graveyard." Rin suggested.  
"Okay, sounds like fun!" Hitomi agreed happily.  
I nodded, and ask, "Okay, who's going to be the ghost?"  
Nobu volunteers.  
"Alright, Nobu it is."  
We all decide that the couch in the living room is home base. We all close our eyes, and count to 12 o' clock.

-Rin-

I start to look for Nobu, but I'm at a loss. I search as hard as I can, when I open a closet door. He's sitting there, and I scream ghost in the graveyard. I run as hard as I can, but I'm easily caught by Nobu. We both laugh, and he kisses me.

-Gaara-

I'm still frustrated that everyone knows I was crying after the movie. I was only crying because…because…I was reminded of Rin and Nobu. I felt like I was in Jacob's position. I'm pathetic. How could I even fucking cry in such a stupid movie?!  
I continue to wander around aimlessly; following everyone else's lead. I don't even know how to play this stupid game. Rin is across the room in my bedroom, and opens my closet. Nobu is randomly in there, and Rin yells, "Ghost in the Graveyard!"  
What the hell was Nobu doing in my closet?! My personal belongings are in there! What an ass!  
Rin begins to run away all of a sudden, and I'm so confused.  
Nobu chases after Rin and catches her almost immediately, and she begins to laugh. Then most unexpectedly, Nobu kisses Rin.

My heart suddenly hurts, and I feel so sad…  
What is this feeling?

The game ends after a little bit, and I go into my bedroom. I sit on my bed and feel like the world has just ended; like I don't even feel like living anymore. Why do I feel this why? Nothing is making sense.  
Koji enters the room, "Hey,"  
I say nothing.  
"I saw Nobu kiss Rin. Are they going out?" He asks.  
I just stare at the ceiling, not finding the will to even speak. Why should I even bother?  
"…And I saw the look on your face. Well…I think you like Rin." He said so simply; so calm; like he always does.  
I suddenly find the will to speak, and say, "I don't like Rin. I hate her. I hate Nobu. I hate everyone here." I respond; my voice mean and cold.  
But Koji just laughs. He laughs, "I know better Gaara. I'm positive you like her. The look on your face when Nobu kissed her said it all."  
"Oh yeah? What was the look on my face?" I glare.  
"Like that truly hurt you, and like meaning and happiness just left you in an instant. I don't know how to describe it…like the world had just ended."  
Creepy. He just said my feeling exactly. That only made me hate him more.  
"Well I don't like Rin, okay?! So just cut it out already!" I yelled. God, I was just so pissed off.  
"Fine, you don't have to admit it," Koji rolled his eyes, "Anyway, I like someone too."  
Curiosity sparked my interest, "Who?" I asked; coldness gone from my voice.  
Koji smiled, amused it appeared, and said, "Hitomi."  
Shock washed over me, "But you barely know her."  
"I knew her from our old school, we were friends, and I know her better than you think I do."  
I sat in silence, "Why are you telling me this?"  
"Because, I wanted to." He says very simply.

Koji was…different. He seemed to be very open and understanding, and he also seemed to be able to stand me. I guess he wasn't as bad as I thought.

-Rin-

The next morning, Hitomi made us all pancakes which were very delicious. I changed into a Gothic Lolita jumper that was black with white accents. I put on black tights and black rocking horse ballerinas. I put a headdress with a bow on and my outfit was complete.  
Nobu had told me earlier that we should go on a date, so today was the day. As we were leaving, Gaara – who was sitting on the couch – asked us where we were going.  
"Oh, just getting some coffee at Starbucks." I reply.

-Gaara-

Yes, I know. I'm getting desperate. I went into Shuya's room – a closet –, and went through a box filled with wigs and costumes – when he plays "dress up". I found a black wig, it was awful, but it was the only one that looked normal. I then grabbed the car keys and went to every Starbucks I could think of. The fifth one I went to, Rin and Nobu were at. I grabbed a newspaper and sat away from them, but close enough to eavesdrop.

-Koji-

I had a sudden urge for coffee, and drove down to my favorite Star Bucks. I ordered a Caramel Frappachino, and looked for a place to sit.  
I saw Nobu and Rin sitting together chatting merrily. What a coincidence that we both decided to come to the same exact Star Bucks. I looked for another seat, and spotted what looked like Gaara wearing a cheap shaggy black wig behind a newspaper. I could see random strands of his red hair sticking out from under the wig. What the hell was he doing?

I walk over to him and say, "Hey, Gaara. What are you doing wearing a wig?"  
"Keep your voice down!" Gaara sneers, "Sit down! Quick!"  
I obey and sit down. Gaara throws me a newspaper. Assuming that I'm supposed to hide behind it, I put it up and obscured my face.  
"Okay Gaara, now can you tell—"  
"I said SHUT UP and keep your voice down!"  
"OKAY, okay…" I sigh, "So tell me what's up."  
"Well…let's just say I'm getting kinda desperate and I decided to come here and eavesdrop…on Rin and Nobu."  
"With that cheap wig? You look awful, and it's so obvious that it's you." I laugh.  
"It was the best looking wig I could find, okay?"  
"So you like Rin then? You'll finally admit it?"  
"Okay FINE. Yes…I do."  
"Okay." I respond.  
We go silent, and I can hear Rin and Nobu talking.

"Shuya is so retarded. I wonder why he suddenly likes Gaara all of a sudden?" I hear Rin say, and I know Gaara is listening too, "I know Gaara is hot and all," Gaara blushes, which isn't something you see everyday I assume, "but I mean…what the hell is wrong with Shuya?!"  
"Uhm, yeah. He's strange. Anyway…" Nobu replies, trying to change the subject, "What's your favorite flower?"  
"Gaara is pretty damn hot, but he's such an asshole!" Rin goes on, ignoring Nobu's question.  
"Uh ANYWAYS, do you like daisies?" Nobu asks.  
"No, they're boring. Can we talk about something besides flowers?"  
"Do you like roses?"  
"Uh yeah, they're pretty…ANYWAYS, this Star Bucks is pretty classy, and don't you agree?"  
I saw Gaara take out a notepad and start taking notes. I snuck a peek, and it said:

1. Rin thinks I'm hot.  
2. Doesn't like daisies.  
3. Likes roses. Thinks they're pretty.

I laughed out loud and Gaara gave me a death glare. I only continued smirking.  
"…I'm going to the bathroom." I suddenly hear Nobu say coldly. Looks like we missed them argue.  
Rin sits alone looking upset.  
I look at Gaara, and his eyes are teary eyed as he stares at Rin. Wow…this is a pretty entertaining show.

~Later~

We were all sitting watching T.V. when a thought occurred to me. How are we living here? We're staying in a super nice hotel that is like $200-$300 dollars a night, and we're somehow getting the money for this. Not to mention all the nice clothes, eating out at expensive restaurants, doing other random activities, and not even having a job! All that I know of is that Shuya is a grave digger, and somehow that's paying for all of this. He goes at night, and returns the early morning from his job. But surely a grave digger doesn't get paid THAT well, do they? And also, we all manage to somehow have our own car. How strange…

I noticed Gaara staring intently at Rin, and whenever she looked his way, he'd quickly look back at the T.V. This was quite entertaining.  
Rin was mad at Nobu, because they had gotten in a fight; which we had missed. She was making it quite clear too; ignoring anything he said, talking about anything BUT him, and not making eye contact with him whatsoever. She just sat there on the couch with her arms crossed looking angry but upset at the same time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Summer in the Sun**

-Gaara-

Koji and I sat in our room.  
"Koji, as stupid as this sounds, I need advice." I asked reluctantly. I wasn't good at admitting things like this.  
"Yeah?" He asked, smiling calmly.  
"Well…I don't mean to sound like a little kid, but how do I get Rin to like me?"  
"Well first of all, don't be a rude to her. Rin said so herself that she thinks you're an asshole."  
"But…it's not like I TRY to be rude, I just have a temper."  
"Yeah I know. It's something you need to work on. Because if you get mad at all and starting making a scene, it will. Not. Work."  
"How do you know all of this?" I asked.  
"I have experience." He stated simply.  
A horrible thought came to me, "Are you a virgin?!"  
"Of course I am! I've just dated girls, that's all."  
"O…kay."  
Suddenly Shuya bursts through the door, "I'M not a VIRGIN! HAHAHAHAHHAHA…..EHHHH…..OHHHH….POOOP."  
He then he walks out. We sit in silence.  
"That was…weird." Koji says slowly in the awkward silence.

~In the Middle of the Night~

I sleep wonderfully, but I hear retarded Shuya's voice. I open my eyes, and see Shuya on top of me. I open my mouth to scream, but Shuya puts his hand over it and my scream goes unheard, and puts his finger to his lips saying, "Shhhh…" He smiles creepily, "Yooooouuu're in my bed now, now it's time to fuuuuck." He sang quietly, going with the tune "The Recluse" by Cursive.  
I got his disgusting hand off my mouth and yelled, "Get THE FUCK off me Shuya!" I kick in him the balls and he squeals in pain.  
"Wha…what's going on Gaara…" I hear Koji mutter in the other bed.  
"Dumbass Shuya is trying to rape me!"  
I get up and kick Shuya out the door, and lock it. I sigh out in frustration, and go back to bed.

-Rin-

I wake up in the middle of the night, and hear screaming. I'm so tired I hardly think about it. The next morning, I'm eating Hitomi's delicious scrambled eggs, toast, and bacon. While I'm eating, Shuya decides to be annoying.  
"I know a secreeeeeeet! HEHEHEHEHEHEHHE EHHHHH. Gaara—"  
"UHM! YOU KNOW WE SHOULD GO SWIMMING OR SOMETHING. HAHA, I MEAN WOULDN'T THAT BE FUN?!" Gaara screamed over Shuya so I could only see his lips moving. Okay…  
Ignoring what had happened, I began to say, "Well, what was that screaming last night?"  
"Oh, Shuya attempted to rape me." Gaara says calmly.  
"Oh my god…" I say in horror.  
"That reeeeally happened! HEHHEHEHE. Wasn't that fun, Gaara-kun?"  
"Me, kicking you in the balls? Yeah, that was delightful. And don't call me 'Gaara-kun', that's disgusting." He says, clearly pissed off.  
"Oh, OKAYYYYY, sweetie-pie! HE! So…do we get to go swimming…? And I get to see you TOPLESS. EHHHHHHHHHHHHH."  
"Well, that sounds fun. We'll just leave Shuya behind. I'm going to change."

I get up and clean my dishes. After, I go and change into a black and white bikini. I grab a black towel and wait in the living room watching "The Simpsons".  
Hitomi comes out next, in an awesome bikini – it's black and has a blood splatter design on it.  
"I love your bikini!" I say smiling.  
"Thanks, I love yours too!"  
"Thanks!"  
We wait for everyone else, and everyone comes out. Gaara's wearing black swim suit bottoms, as is Kiriyama, and Koji. Do they share closets…? Nobu is wearing blue ones. When Gaara spots me, he goes red. Is my swimsuit too revealing? I look down, but it's not that bad. What the crap?  
"Uh…you l-look good Rin…" Gaara says, stuttering. This is awkward.  
"Uh, thank you…you too…" At this, he goes even redder. Is he sick…?  
"Do you have the flu or something?" I ask, "You're bright red!" Kiriyama begins to laugh.  
"No! I ate some…spicy chilies!" He blurts out.  
"But, we don't have those…" I point out.  
"Uh, I bought them yesterday, for myself."  
I'll just drop it.  
Shuya then appears in a bright green Speedo that blinds me.  
"You're not coming Shuya." I say, annoyed.  
"OH…." He slowly sneaks down the couch and disappears.  
We leave and arrive at the swimming pool. It's crowded, and I hate crowds. Not only that, I spot someone in a bright green Speedo. It's Shuya, of course. I roll my eyes, how does he always manage to beat us to our destination?  
I scanned the area and decided to go on a huge slide.

While in line, I heard some girls in really skimpy bikini's chatting.  
"So, did you like, do him?" The blonde one asks.  
"No, I just did a strip tease!" The shorter, red head states.  
I stopped listening in, and ignored them. I then heard them whispering, so I listened harder.  
"Oh my god, what the hell is she like wearing?"  
"I don't know, but that's disgusting, I bet if she has a boyfriend, he'd be desperate."  
"Excuse me? I have a boyfriend." I say, glaring.  
"Yeah right! Where is he?" I look over, and spot Nobu. He's sitting alone by the edge, and then I look at Gaara. He's with Koji and they're chatting. It's awful, but I say, "That red-head. The one talking to the other guy." I point in his direction.  
"Oh, he's hot. What's he doing with you?" The blonde one says snottily.  
"Uh, he loves me, why else?" I say.  
They ignore me and stare at Gaara. Bitches.

I go down – it was really fun – and then went back to the group. I explain to Hitomi what happened and she gasps.  
"You said Gaara was your boyfriend?!"  
"Uhm, Nobu looked kinda pathetic! Besides, we're fighting right now."  
"Oh, Rin…"  
"Don't tell anyone!"  
"Okay…"  
I sigh, and sit down on my towel. In the distance, I see Shuya taking pictures of Gaara…oh my. I laugh and see that Gaara has also noticed Shuya's actions, so he pushes him in the deep end and walks off disgusted.  
A loud speaker turned on and began, "Attention, swimmers. Please exit out of the pool." Everyone exits the pool, and workers go over to where Shuya was and started scrubbing. What the…? After 10 minutes, we're allowed back in.  
Shuya passes us and as he's leaving, I see a brown spot. Eww…  
He sits down and starts putting his crotch in the air. Those girls from before become drawn to him, and start to hit on him. I ignore them, and look away.

-Hitomi-

I sit under my umbrella reading a magazine, sipping from my Ramune occasionally. Some guy wearing a pink Speedo came up to me. What was with guys in Speedos? He was very muscular, and not in a hot way. Like his whole body was just so utterly big and it was a turn off; not too mention the Speedo. Besides, he wasn't attractive in the face either.  
"Hey baby," He greeted, with a cocky smile.  
"…Hi?" I replied, trying to not scowl.  
"You free? I know this is quick, but let me get straight to the point. I think you're hot, and I wanna go on a date. So what do you say?"  
I sat in silence for a minute, having a hard time processing what he just said, "Um…no thank you." I say, trying to be polite.  
"Aww c'mon, please?"  
"I said no…so if you'd be so kind, go ask someone who's interested."  
"I'll beg if I have to!" He said, getting on his knees, "Please?"  
"Can't you see you're bothering her?" Koji suddenly said, coming out of nowhere.  
"I don't take no for an answer." The guy said rudely, looking at me.  
"Look, just please go away." I asked, doing my best to sound decent.  
"You are being very disrespectful! When a guy asks for a date, you say yes! Some lady you are!" The guy nagged.  
"Just get out of here." Koji replied.  
"So, he's my competition? I'll fight you if I have to!"  
"I don't want to make a scene, but I will if I have to." Koji responded calmly.  
The guy threw a punch at Koji, which he dodged easily, and pushed the guy in the pool.  
"AHHH!" The guy screamed with horror and shock.  
"What an idiot," Koji muttered, and I laughed.  
"Thank you Koji! That was nice." I smile.  
"Sure, no problem." He grins.

-Kiriyama-

I walked around looking for something to do. I spotted Gaara sitting under an umbrella, wearing sunglasses, and sipping a Pina Colada looking like he was some prince.  
"Gaara, what are you doing?" I ask him.  
"What do you mean what am I doing? Sitting here casually." He responded.  
"Well you're acting like you're royalty. Why aren't you swimming?" I ask.  
"Because…I don't want to ruin my fair skin. And I hate getting wet."  
I grab him by the hair and drag him to the pool as he yells and curses at me. I get ready to push him in.  
"NO! KIRIYAMA! DOOOON'T!" Gaara screams.  
I laugh evilly and push him in anyway. Gaara screams in horror, and when he emerges from the water he looks beyond angry.  
"KIRIYAMA I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"  
I just laugh and walk away.

-Rin-

I looked at Gaara, he was looking pretty fancy. Kiriyama came up to him, and he grabbed him by the hair and threw him in the pool. A chase ensued. I then looked around more, and saw Shuya under a tree, squatting down, moving his right arm. I saw mothers putting hands over their children's eyes, and knew what he was doing. God, he's disgusting.

I was getting bored with swimming and decided to get ice cream. I went and broke up Gaara and Kiriyama, and collected Koji and Hitomi. I made Hitomi get Nobu, and we left for ice cream. We all order and sit down. Gaara seems to be late, so I get up and see what he's doing. He trips on who knows what, and his ice cream flies through the air, and lands down my bikini top.  
"Gaara. What. The. Hell." I say slowly.  
"I-I didn't mean too!" He stutters. I notice that he's bright red, and I feel bad.  
"I'll be back. I'm going to clean up."

I take my leave and go to the bathroom. Luckily, it's pretty fancy. I go into a stall and take off my top and wipe off the ice cream with toilet paper. I then do the same to the top. It's stained brown. Wonderful, brand new swimming suit and it's ruined.  
I come back out and sit down next to Gaara – the only seat left.  
"I'm really sorry Rin." He says apologetically.  
"It's okay." I mutter. "Is everyone done? I'm gonna wait in the car."

After a bit, everyone comes back and we go back home. Shuya runs out into the living room while skipping and shouting, "Look at this! EHHHH!" He puts the video in and the first scene is of Gaara looking sleepy and eating crepes, while Shuya plays "Funky".  
Gaara then enters the room, so we pause the show when Gaara isn't shown. We then make up a lie saying that he needs to go grocery shopping. He decides to because he spilled his ice cream on me. He then leaves the apartment. We continue to watch for a bit.  
The funniest scenes consisted of Gaara walking down the hall and flipping off the camera as he leaves – "Funky" is also playing again. But the best scene was Gaara singing in the shower – which he wasn't a very good singer – and him coming out of the shower and having his thing covered by a creepy statue.  
Gaara came in on the latter scene, started screaming, and we all turned off the TV.

-Gaara-

I sat in my room with Koji, and he seemed in a good mood.  
"It was a good day, huh?" He said, smiling.  
"Ehh…not really. I wouldn't call being pushed in a pool, seeing Shuya masturbate, ruining Rin's bikini, and coming home to everyone seeing me naked on some random video Shuya filmed a good day."  
"Well at least your penis wasn't showing. Say thanks to that statue thing." Koji replies.  
"You've got a lot of nerve." I reply.  
Koji just laughs, so I ignore him and I go to sleep.

I'm with Rin in a rave. The club is dark and the song "Shut up and sleep with me" by Sin with Sebastian plays in the background. The club is full of people, but I manage to find a room where we can have some privacy.  
I drag Rin in the room and push her on the bed. I put ice cream on her chest, and lick it off with my tongue. I laugh seductively, because I absolutely love that my tongue is on Rin's cleavage. I begin to feel Rin up, starting from her legs; up her thighs, and my hand stops in that certain spot…  
Rin moans, and I slip my hand inside her underwear.

-Koji-

I open my eyes to another morning. I sit and rub my eyes; yawning.  
Suddenly Gaara wakes up too, but he looks like he just saw something horrible. Out of nowhere he flies up and screams with absolutely pure horror, "OHHHHH MY GOOOOOOOOD! HOW COULD I…EVEN…DOOO THAAAAT?! AHHHHHHHHH!"  
Gaara just sits there with terror; like he's extremely traumatized. I stare at him in complete shock, wondering what the hell that was about. Gaara sees me and then snaps back into reality.  
"…..Oh uh…hi…Koji" He says awkwardly.  
"Nightmare?" I ask; giving him a look of utmost confusion.  
"…Y-yeah…"  
"Do I need to come over there to hold you and make you feel better?"  
I joke, grinning.  
"N-no!"  
"You sure?" I grin wider.  
"I said NOOOOOO!" He yells.  
We sit in silence.  
"Okay." I say simply, and get up to get ready for the day.

-Gaara-

I sit in my bed absolutely paralyzed about my dream. Why do these dreams keep on happening?! But…the worst part is…is how much I enjoyed it.  
I finally get up for the day. I went out into the living room, and everyone was watching T.V. I sat beside Rin, and I suddenly remembered my dream. I blushed a deep crimson and I hurried and hid it.  
"Good morning, Rin." I said randomly.  
"Oh uh, good morning Gaara." She replied.  
We met eyes and I smiled at her happily. She looked kind of confused.  
"Um, I'm gonna make breakfast." She said slowly, getting up and leaving towards the kitchen.  
I looked at Koji with confusion.  
"What did I do wrong?" I whispered.  
"Uhh, nothing. Just…girls are weird like that." He replied.  
I continued watching T.V.  
"Well, I'm leaving. I need to get more books to read at the library." Kiriyama suddenly said, and got up and left.  
"I NEED TO MEET UP WITH MY BOYYYYYFRIEND NAMED KYOYA! WE'RE GONNA DOOOOOOO STUFF!" Shuya yelled, with what sounded like anger. He looked over at me and glared with rage. At the door he muttered, "THAT should make him jealous!"

Nobu gets up and walks into the kitchen, and I can hear them talking.  
"Rin, can we talk?"  
There's a silence, "What is it?" Rin replies, slightly rude but like she's trying to be nice still.  
"Well…I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am for—"  
"GAAARA I'M GOING WITH MY NEW BOYFRIEND KYOYA TO DANCE ROMANTICALLY AND DRINK WINE AND SLEEP TOGETHER! AND NOOOOOOT WITH YOOOOOUUUU! AHHHHHHHHHHHH"  
I ignore him, and try to listen into Rin and Nobu's conversation but to no avail. Damn Shuya.  
"I TOLD you Gaara would be jealous Kyoya!" Shuya yells to some guy beside him supposedly named Kyoya, his new "boyfriend".  
"Who's Gaara?" Kyoya replies with a similar voice to Shuya's.  
"The guy I'm I love with!"  
"But…b-but I thought that was me!" Kyoya gets teary eyed.  
"Of course it is! E-e-e-e-e-e-e-hhh I love y-youuuuuu! Not um….HIM! Ehhh e-e-e-e-e-h…." Shuya stuttered.  
"Awww...how sweeeet." Kyoya says. They lean in for a very slobbery-looking kiss. I hurry and look away before I see the horrific sight. They slam the door and leave.  
"Okay…I forgive you." I hear Rin say from the kitchen.

After a couple of minutes, Rin and Nobu come out of the kitchen holding hands. I get a disgusted feeling, and look away. Why did they have to get back together?!  
"Hello everyone," Rin smiles, "Nobu and I were wondering if anyone would like to go to the arcade with us."  
"I'll go!" Hitomi says excitedly.  
"Sure, why not?" Koji says. I got the feeling that he was only saying that because Hitomi said she was going.  
"What about you Gaara?" Rin smiles.  
"Oh, I'm fine. I'll stay here." I reply. I don't want to see Nobu and Rin together…I don't want this sick feeling in my stomach anymore.  
They all get ready, and leave. Somehow, everyone is gone. I have the house to myself! Finally some free time to myself!  
I get a scandalous thought, decide what the hell, and take off my clothes. I still have my red boxers on at least! I turn on the stereo full blast and play the song "Satisfaction" by Benny Benassi. I dance like there's no tomorrow. This song is so awesome!

-Rin-

I leave with Nobu, Hitomi, and Koji. I realize I left my wallet, so I go back with them accompanying me. As we near the room, I hear loud music erupting one of the rooms. I enter, and gasp. I see Gaara dancing full-out and he's only in his boxers. He seems to realize that he's not alone, and turns around. He goes bright red, and I'm stifling a laugh. I can't help but notice that he's toned – muscular but not disgusting. And hairless.

"Uhm, I just left my wallet. I'll go get it." I say. I can feel my face get really hot. I hurry and enter my room and grab the wallet, and go back to the living room.  
"So, how are you guys?" Gaara says awkwardly.  
"I-It's good." I hear Koji stumble, he must be laughing.  
They stand there waiting for me, and I look at Koji. He's muffling his laughter. Hitomi looks embarrassed, and Nobu seems entertained. I leave with the group and we all laugh as we leave.

-Gaara-

They all leave, and I'm extremely embarrassed. Rin saw me in my boxers!  
I decided to continue dancing with the music, and I had a blast chugging a whole bunch of soda. WEW!  
But as I'm enjoying my time home alone, I hear a knock on the door. Assuming it's Rin or someone from our group, I open the door.  
It's police.  
They eye me up and down in my boxers disapprovingly.  
Oh shit.  
"Hello sir, we got a call complaining about how loud your music is."  
"Oh, uh…sorry. I'll just uh, turn it down." I reply awkwardly.  
"…You uh, waiting for your girlfriend or something?"  
I stand in silence for a moment, "Something like that."

-Rin-

We go to the arcade and I noticed an Asian with a weird accent say, "You hurting my thigh!" What the…?  
We ignore the weirdo, and look for games to play. Koji and Nobu find one fast, and I decide to play a shooting game with Hitomi and we both laugh about the incident with Gaara and Kiriyama. After that, we all waste time doing things like car games, fighting games, and DDR.  
"Hitomi, do you have to go the rest room? I need to freshen up."  
"Yeah, same here."  
We excuse ourselves and leave to the ladies room. We start to brush our hair and refresh our makeup.

"I can't believe Gaara was dancing in his underwear!" I say in shock.  
"But you've gotta admit, he's got nice abs." Hitomi replies with a mischievous smile.  
"I guess, but I mean…we saw him dance…in his boxers." I respond.  
"Which is funny." Hitomi laughs.  
"I guess." We finish up and leave the restroom. We find Nobu and Koji, then Koji suggests frozen yogurt.  
We all order our frozen yogurt, and begin to discuss what our plans should be.  
"I think a camping trip would be really fun!" Hitomi suggests.  
"I guess…" Nobu replies.  
"Okay, well I also saw in the paper the next Tanabata festival is coming up. I really want to go!" I hurry and respond to Nobu.  
We discuss that a little further and head back home. When we enter, it's completely silent, and I see Gaara looking quite traumatized on the couch.  
"Gaara…are you okay?" I question.  
"I need to talk to you. Privately."  
I follow him into his room.

Gaara leans in, and I begin to panic. What was he doing?!  
"Rin, the cops came. I thought they were tracking me down, but it was just because my music was too loud. It was so scary…" He whispered to me.  
Thank god he wasn't leaning in for a kiss…  
"Well do they even know about you…?"  
"I don't think so!"  
"Then you have nothing to worry about." I say, trying to calm him down.  
"Hopefully."  
"And why were you dancing in your boxers?" I question.  
"I was just grateful to have the house to myself. You know, you do things you wouldn't normally do when you're alone."  
"Like murdering someone?" I respond.  
Gaara was silent for a little bit, "No, I've…changed. Ever since I joined this 'group', I just haven't been myself."  
"How so?"  
"I've felt things that I'd never expect I'd feel. Not in the perverted sense, of course."  
I stay quiet, and wonder what that could possibly be. I try not to butt in anymore, so I take my leave.  
"I hope you feel better Gaara. At least they're gone, right?" I smile, pass Koji in the hall, and then enter my room to change into my P.J's.

-Gaara-

Rin leaves the room and Koji enters.  
"Yo. What was Rin doing in here?" Koji questions me.  
"Nothing." I quickly respond.  
"Just tell me what you were talking about," He puts on a puppy-dog face then says, "Please?"  
"We were just discussing the underwear incident."  
"So, what were you doing?"  
"Having fun enjoying the house to myself."  
"I see…" Koji then grins at me, "By the way, do you work out?"  
"No, not really. Why?"  
"You've got some abs working there." He laughs.  
"And why do you care?" I say suspiciously.  
"Let's just say I'm jealous."  
"Oh, really." I roll my eyes. He laughs. I ignore him, and then go to bed.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Tanabata Festival Love Confessions**

~One Month Later~

-Hitomi-

The Tanabata festival was today, so I decided to get ready a little early so I wouldn't be putting things on frantically later. I put on my best kimono that cost a fortune. It was black with several pink and purple flowers blooming everywhere. The obi was yellow, with a pink bow covered in pink and yellow flowers. There also was a single realistic-looking fake hot pink flower matching the same ones on the kimono design with the bow. I left my hair down, and put a hair ornament with a crimson butterfly and pink flowers in it. Then I put on white tabi socks with black Okobo Geta sandals with a red flower design. Lastly, I put on some makeup; thin black eyeliner around my eyes, a deep shade of red on my eyelids, mascara, a tiny bit of blush, and some lipstick to make my lips a light cherry color.  
I looked at my reflection and was satisfied. Yay!

-Rin-

"You guys! We're leaving for the festival in half an hour! Hurry up!" I shout. I look at my image in the mirror. I'm not even close to ready. I'm half-naked and my hair's a mess. I frantically look in my closet and notice that precious black and red Heian kimono I had saved for special occasions. I put it on with Hitomi's help, which took about 25 minutes to do due to the many layers. I put on the black obi with beautiful red petals spilling all over it. I tie a red rope around the obi and begin to fix my hair. After that, I hurry with my makeup. I put mascara on and red by the ends of my eyes. I slip on black tabi socks and Okobo Geta sandals that are black and red.

I'm finally done! I exit the room, and wait in the living room. I sit by Hitomi who looks fabulous, and then Nobu comes in. He's wearing a simple black kimono with a white crane on it, and in the background are trees. Koji comes out next with this awesome black kimono that has blue rope designs exploding on it. And Kiriyama comes out in a traditional black kimono. Gaara's the last to come out, and he's wearing a simple black kimono. Shuya then saunters out, in a creepy Japanese-cowboy outfit. It's too shocking to describe.  
"OMG! You guys look FABULOUS!" Shuya shouts in a super-ultra gay voice.  
"You're not going Shuya." I say simply.  
"I THOUGHT THAT IF I WAS-WAS NICE T-TO YOU I-I'D GET T-TO…GOOO! EHHHHHHHHHHHHH" He starts to get teary-eyed, and begins to bawl. He then grabs a stick with a stuffed horse head at the top, and gallops to the festival.

As we all head out, I feel over-dressed. I'm embarrassed, so I'm silent for most of the car ride.  
"You look really pretty Rin." Gaara says, smiling at me.  
"Thanks." I smile back but look back outside. The festival has already begun, and everyone is around carnival games and whatnot. We step out, and start to find things to do.  
"Hey, Hitomi, wanna get a goldfish?" Koji asks.  
"Yeah, sounds like fun!" She gives him a cute smile and they leave. Hopefully they get together.  
I leave with Nobu to go and do some carnival games too, and we leave Gaara and Kiriyama together.

-Gaara-

I wish Rin didn't leave with Nobu…I wanted to spend some quality time with her tonight so she could like me more! Damn Nobu.  
"Greeeeaaat I'm stuck with you." I complained, looking at Kiriyama.  
He ignored me, and began to walk off. I followed him, having nothing better to do.  
We walked passed many stalls, and stopped at a shooting game where water sprays out and you have to aim in the exact right spot. It was another chance to beat Kiriyama and prove I was better!  
"You're on, Kiriyama. I'll win this time!" I pronounce proudly.  
"You wish," Kiriyama laughed.  
We begin. I'm winning at first, aiming exactly right. Yes!  
"Holly shiz, Rin is naked over there!" Kiriyama yells suddenly.  
Rin's naked?! What?! Where?! What's going on?! I look at where Kiriyama is staring. All I see is a bustle of people moving through the street chatting and laughing. What is Kiriyama talking about? Rin isn't anywhere!

I look back to the game, and since I've been looking away my aim has been completely off. Kiriyama's aim however is perfect, and he wins. Fuck!  
"Hahaha, Gaara, you perv! You obviously have the hots for Rin!" Kiriyama laughs.  
"No I don't! I thought you were serious, and it was just instinct to look, okay?!" I said angrily.  
"You're a bad liar." Kiriyama gives me a big grin.  
"You're such an asshole." I mutter, and I know he hears; which only makes him grin wider.  
Some random girl wearing her obi in front and was really creepy looking went up to Kiriyama.  
"Heeey handsome, you're so strong…you beat this game." She says to him. I hold back a laugh.  
"Uhh...hello. This game doesn't take any strength." Kiriyama replies.  
"Ohh…well then, you have very good aim. If you know what I mean, heheh." She said, licking her lips. Oh god…how creepy. Kiriyama seemed very uncomfortable.  
"Uhh…"  
"So, can I have your number handsome?" She asks.  
"Um, I'm gay."  
What?!  
"Oh…you are? What a shame. You just seem better than that to me."  
"Yeah. And that's my boyfriend right there." Kiriyama points to me. What the fuck does he think he's doing?!  
"Oh…ew. Um, bye then."  
Did she just say ew? How insulting.  
"Kiriyama! Never say I'm your boyfriend ever again!" I tell him furiously.  
"I only said that to make her go away." He laughs.  
I sigh. We play a couple more rounds, and Kiriyama wins all of them. How the hell does he ALWAYS win?!

A guy wearing a pimp hat, tuxedo, and glasses with a creepy smile confronted me.  
"Uh…can I help you?" I asked, creeped out.  
"Well, I need help opening the lid on this jar…hehe!" He said in a gay voice.  
I eyed the jar and him for a moment, and slowly grabbed for the jar cautiously.  
"Thanks babe. Hey, are you single? Because I would totally love to spend time getting to know each other. Heheh!"  
"I'm not gay! Now get away from me asshole!" I yelled, throwing the jar into the air. It crashed and shattered in the street. The creepy gay guy ran away with a shocked and fearful look on his face.  
Kiriyama began laughing at me.  
"Why do all these guys like me?! You have no idea how annoying it is!" I said in frustration.  
"Maybe you look like a pimp." Kiriyama joked.  
"Ugh…shut up would you?" I said.

-Kiriyama-

I wonder why Gaara hates me so much. I never even did anything to him, he just suddenly hated me. But he is really fun to pick on!  
Gaara and I continued to walk through the streets, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I stopped and turned around, and there was a girl with long blonde hair with green eyes looking at me. She had ribbons in her hair because of the festival, and wore a purple kimono with a red obi. Truthfully, I thought she was very pretty.  
"Um, excuse me, but you dropped your wallet." She said, and held it out.  
"Oh, thank you very much," I said, taking the wallet.  
"No problem." She replied.  
"What's your name?" I asked, smiling.  
"I'm Kiyoko Morioka." She said.  
"Ah, I'm Kiriyama Kazou."  
"Pleased to meet you." Kiyoko bowed.  
"Hey, um, would you like to join me? I don't have any company." I asked.  
"Oh…what about him though?" She asked, pointing to Gaara.  
"Oh, he's just my servant." I joke.  
"Your…servant?" She looks very confused.  
"I'm not his servant!" Gaara yells.  
"I was just kidding. Take a joke would you?"  
Gaara gets all pissed off and glares at me.  
"Anyway, want to join me?" I ask Kiyoko again.  
"I'd be delighted." She smiles.  
We go and play more games, and Kiyoko and I learn that we have a lot in common.

-Rin-

I stroll along the booths with Nobu, and we stop at another game one. We both fail miserably and decide to talk.  
"So, what are we going to do?" I ask.  
"Uhm, maybe we can all eat, and then go make a wish. After, maybe set lanterns afloat?" He suggests.  
"Okay, let me call Hitomi, one second." I pull out my cell phone and dial her number.  
"Hey, Hitomi. How about this…" I tell her the thought and she agrees. We decided to meet up and the entrance, but then I notice a sign. "Actually, meet me by Miss Tanabata?" I laugh, and wait for her to come.

Hitomi arrives with Koji, and we go up to the sign-up booth. We register as a joke, and we end up being in the competition. Oops.  
At the beginning, we all go out on stage one at a time and they judge us. I don't even try, so I'm basically looking around at the crowd. I probably look extremely bored, but then I notice Gaara in the crowd. Why is he watching this? I go out confused, and then Hitomi goes out next. The next round, and we're both still in. Why did they pick me…?  
The next round consisted of us strutting around in our kimono and other tedious things like that. After a long while, we were finally done. Hitomi and I were the last ones to participate. We went on stage, and for some odd reason, there was a tie. We both won (somehow) and we left. We gave the sash and crown to Shuya who begged for them. He left strutting, so I then I met up with Gaara after.  
"You guys did great." Gaara says while smiling.  
"Thanks!" Hitomi and I say in unison.

We then lead Gaara to the entrance, and we passed Shuya on the way. He was bragging to people that he won.  
"Yeah, I'm so amazing, that I won Miss Tanabata!"  
"But those two girls won, I saw it myself!" a man cried.  
"NO! I WON!" Shuya pouted.  
We continued to the entrance and met up with Koji. We waited for Kiriyama and Nobu. But another person came too.  
"Who's this?" I ask, pointing to a blonde girl.  
"This is Kiyoko." Kiriyama introduces her.  
"Oh, hello." I greet kindly.  
"Hello." She replies.

After that, we left to a restaurant. The restaurant is decorated with ancient Japanese architecture and has a nice atmosphere. We sit down and order our food. We chat about what we've been doing at the festival and everyone has an interesting thing to add. We eat and finish our food pretty fast, and then leave to do things on our on.  
"Hey, Rin do you wanna hang out for a little bit?" Gaara asks me.  
"If it's alright with Nobu." I look at him questioningly.  
"As long as we get to do the lanterns together, okay?" He responds.  
"Okay, bye Nobu!" I leave with Gaara to a pretty pond and cherry blossom trees.

-Gaara-

I can't believe Rin said she'd come with me! And I'm so happy that I'm with her right now…  
The sky was dark, and full of stars. It looked so pretty with the full moon in the sky. But not nearly as beautiful as the girl standing beside me now…  
"Isn't this place pretty?" I ask Rin.  
"Yeah, it is." She replies, smiling.

"Rin…how do you feel…about me?" I ask suddenly. I just…need to know.  
"Hmm, that's a strange question. Where do I start…It's confusing. You kind of threatened me a lot. So at first I obviously didn't like you. Then, you slowly started being nice to me. So, all in all you're my friend. I hope. Right?"  
"Of course," I smile, "…I'm sorry that I've been so rude to you. I wish I hadn't ever threatened you." I apologize.  
"Uhm, it's okay…"  
We stare at the sky for awhile, in silence.  
My heart is beating fast in my chest. Rin is beside me, she's so close…What is this feeling? I…I love her! I need her! And before I know what I'm doing, I turn towards her and lean closer to her perfect, heart shaped lips…

Our lips meet and I close my eyes. I feel so much emotion, and it's overpowering. I've waited so long for this moment, and I never want it to end.  
I put my arms around her and pull her closer to me, and I kiss her even deeper. This is all I want…all I need…to be with her right now.  
But the perfect moment ends abruptly and Rin is pulling away from my kiss.  
"G-Gaara! W-what are you doing?!" Rin panics, blushing a bright red.  
"Rin, you don't understand! I love you!" I say desperately.  
"Gaara, you don't understand! I'm with Nobu!" She wails.  
"Please…don't do this to me! I need you!" I plea.  
"I can't believe you Gaara."  
Rin walks away.  
No…no…she can't do this to me! I just confessed my love for her and she denied me! She left me!  
I fall to my knees and cover my face with my hands. This isn't happening…

Why Rin?

-Nobu-

Rin is taking longer than I thought, so I go out and search for her. I search everywhere, and time is running out until midnight for the lanterns. She has to be here somewhere! I continue searching when I come across cherry blossom trees.  
I see Rin in the distance, and Gaara…kissing!  
What is Rin doing?! She's cheating on me! With GAARA!  
I'm so angry and full of rage. I can't even stand to look at them another second, and I storm off alone.

-Rin-

I left him in a rage, how could he?! I mean at first I don't know why I was letting him, then the shock hit me. I mean…why? He's threatening me in the beginning , and now he's trying to kiss me?! And the fact that I'm with Nobu! His words are just barely sinking into me. Love…but I thought he hated me. Or I was just there, in the background.  
I wander around the stalls looking for Nobu. Maybe he's at the lantern sailing. I hurry and head there, but he's nowhere to be found. I look at a clock and it's five minutes till midnight. I begin my search again. After a minute or two, I see him sulking under a tree.

It's close to the festival, but the area was deserted.  
"Nobu! You won't believe what just happened!"  
"No kidding." He sounds hurt.  
"W-what are you talking about?" I question.  
"I saw you. I saw the kiss. I can't even believe you! Of all the people, you choose Gaara to cheat with." He accuses.  
"What are you talking about? He—"  
"I know what I saw, Rin! It's over. Okay?!" He storms off, not looking back.  
His shocking accusations send me to my knees. What the hell is going on? I feel tears run down my face, and I sit alone in darkness for what feels like days.

-Hitomi-

I'm having such a great time here at the festival! I've been playing a lot of games with Koji, and I somehow won with Rin on the Miss Tanabata contest. After all this time, I thought I liked Kiriyama, but…  
I think I like Koji.

After eating with everyone at that restaurant, Koji and I sat together by the river where we would soon be setting our lanterns afloat.  
"It's been a great day," I say.  
"I agree," Koji smiled.  
We sat together talking, and learning more about each other for awhile. Before we knew it, it was midnight! People were gathering around the river, and they were starting to light lanterns and putting them in the water.

Koji and I lit our lanterns together; mine was blue with blue flame designs, and his was yellow with Japanese symbols. We set them in the water, and let them go. I happily watched them flow down the river, and it looked so beautiful with all the other ones as well.  
Koji suddenly grabbed my hand. I looked at him and blushed. He just grasped it tighter and smiled kindly. I smiled back.  
We stood hand-in-hand like that for awhile watching the lanterns go down the river.

-Kiriyama-

I begin to leave the festival, it was boring me. I say good bye to Kiyoko, and I leave. I head towards a forest-looking area when I see a dark blob. I head towards it cautiously, when I hear whimpers.  
"Who's there?" I call out.  
"K-Kiriyama?" I hear a muffled voice, and it sounds like Rin's.  
"Rin?"  
"Yeah, it's me. Are we leaving?"  
"I am. I don't know where the others are." I head towards her and help her get up.  
I notice her face looks wet. "Rin, what's wrong?" I ask sympathetically.  
"U-Uhm, Gaara kissed me. Then Nobu saw. He thought I was cheating on him, but Gaara did this out of the blue! He…just broke up with me…" She explained.  
"He what?! I'm so sorry!" I hug her out of concern, and start to lead her back to our car.  
We're silent the whole way, and I leave her at the car to gather everyone.

-Rin-

I'm waiting in the passenger seat when I hear arguing. I'm too sad to turn my head, but I recognize Gaara and Kiriyama's voice.  
"It's all your fault this happened!" Kiriyama shouted.  
"I didn't mean to! It just…slipped!" Gaara retorted.  
"She's with Nobu you dumbass! And now they've broken up! Because of your stupidity!"  
"It's Nobu's fault for assuming she was cheating, okay?!" He screams back.  
Hitomi and Koji slip in the car and sit in the middle in silence. Gaara enters and sits in the very back all alone.  
I'm silent through the car ride back home. The whole group is here except for Nobu; no one knows where he is.  
I look at Kiriyama and he looks very grim. The whole night has been ruined. After about ten minutes, we arrive home.

-Gaara-

I feel so horrible. I've ruined everything, and now Rin hates me. I was so selfish to kiss her, but…I love her. But it's my love that has caused all of this chaos. What have I done…?  
The whole ride back home, Kiriyama is throwing glares at me. His fists are clenched and he looks like he wants to kill me. It's all my fault…it always has been.  
We arrive home, and Kiriyama helps Rin back to the hotel room. I follow silently behind the others.

I enter our hotel room, and I see Rin walking towards her room slowly; like she's in a trance. Then I notice her tear streaked face and her makeup is smeared. I feel a pang of guilt. I…I made her cry.  
I go into my room sadly, and lay on my bed. I don't even feel like living.  
Koji enters our room, and I can feel him staring at me.  
"Gaara, you naughty boy!" He joked, "Kissing Rin when she's with Nobu. Nice one!"  
"…Leave me alone."  
"Well, you kissed her, right? You should be happy!"  
"Well I'm not…So please…just…go away…" My voice turned into a whisper at the end, sounding sorrowful and weak.  
"Okay…wanna talk about it?" Koji asked.  
"…I…I made her cry. She hates me…" I responded.  
"No she doesn't, she's just upset at you right now. But later, things will be different. I promise."  
"Whatever…"  
I give up on talking to Koji, and go to sleep not even caring anymore.

-Rin-

I wake up but I don't feel like even moving. It takes so much strength just to pull myself out of bed and move. I don't even feel like eating. But no matter how hard it was, I was in the kitchen.  
Suddenly, I hear voices coming from the living room.  
"Nobu, come on! Why aren't you listening to anyone? You're being the selfish one here you know!" Kiriyama shouts at Nobu.  
"She's lying to you! I know it! Gaara wouldn't just kiss her out of nowhere. I knew she was in love with him from the start! Now let me leave!" I hear feet shuffle out of the room and a door slam.

So that's what he thinks. Are you kidding me? He is the selfish one! I'm so angry, but I'm lost. What am I going to do…?  
I hear footsteps come into the kitchen, and it's Hitomi.  
"Hungry Rin?" She asks me.  
"Not really."  
"You should eat something."  
I become silent, and she continues.  
"I'll make it for you. How about French Toast?"  
"Sure." I sit at the table staring at the wall.  
She makes the food and I eat slowly. I then go back to the living room and sit down. I turn the TV on and I'm watching The Simpsons. Even though it's funny, I'm not laughing. It's as if all my emotions have run dry. Except for sadness and anger of course.

-Hitomi-

I felt so bad for Rin…she seemed so sad. She had lost her first boyfriend, and she was so happy to finally be in a relationship for the first time! But…at the same time, I feel really bad for Gaara too. He liked her a lot, and it's almost cute that he couldn't hold back the kiss! But obviously it wasn't right of him to do that when she's with Nobu. That is, she used to be with him…  
Kiriyama told us not to talk about what happened to Rin. "We don't want to remind her so she has to relive the pain over again." He had said.  
Rin sat down on the couch and began to watch TV. I went and got a blanket, sat down beside her, and put the blanket over the both of us. I hugged her out of concern, and said, "It's going to be okay…"  
She looked at me with such a sorrowful look, and her eyes began to get teary. She put her head on my shoulder, and I put my arms around her for comfort, "Don't worry, things will get better…I promise,"

-Koji-

I enjoyed my time with Hitomi last night. I at least had the courage to hold her hand. However, things between Gaara and Rin didn't look too good at the moment. I couldn't believe that he kissed her last night! But I had a feeling things would change for the better good soon enough.  
I noticed Hitomi comforting Rin on the couch. That's nice of Hitomi. Of course I felt bad for Rin; she was going through a hard time. But I want Rin and Gaara to get together! It would be sweet.  
I laughed at my thoughts; I sound like a girl!

I left Hitomi and Rin to have to "girl time" and went back to my room.  
Gaara was sulking in the corner. Seeing Gaara cry was obviously something you didn't see everyday.  
"Are you okay Gaara?" I ask.  
It was funny at first, but Gaara is crying…now I feel bad.  
Gaara hurries and wipes his eyes; this must be embarrassing for him.  
"U-uhm…what?" He asks, trying to look normal.  
"…" I look at him concerningly.  
"Okay fine! Yes, I was crying! So what?" He snaps.  
"It's okay to cry…I do it from time to time." I laugh.  
"Don't make fun of me!" He says angrily.  
"I wasn't. Look, I know you feel completely responsible, and well, it was kinda your fault. BUT, at the moment it's Nobu's fault for not being willing to listen to the truth. So you're off the hook," I say.  
"So? It's still my fault! I confessed my love for her and everything, and now I look like a complete asshole!"  
"She'll get over it…in time." I say, trying to comfort him.  
"No, you're wrong! She hates me!"  
"No she doesn't, alright? Now, let's go get some breakfast. You haven't eaten."  
"I'm not hungry."  
"Yes you are, now c'mon!" I say, grabbing his arm and forcing him to come with me.  
"But Rin is out there!" Gaara says fearfully.  
"…Then we'll hurry out the door and eat at a restaurant. Sound good?" I suggest.  
"…I guess." He replies.  
We hurry out the door quickly and silently, and I don't even think anyone notices us leave.

-Shuya-

I sit in the closet masturbating while thinking about Gaara, moaning loudly in pleasure. I meet up with Kyoya later, and we begin to talk.  
"So, what were you doing, SHUYA?" Kyoya asks.  
"MASTURBATING HEHEHEHEHEEHHHHHHHHHHH."  
"Were you thinking about me…?" He smiles slyly.  
"UHM, YEAH…?"  
"YAY!"

-Kiriyama-

Kiyoko calls up and we decide to hang out at the library.  
"Hi!" She greets me smiling.  
"Hey." I reply.  
"Did you have fun last night?" She asks me.  
"Yeah, it was nice."  
"You okay?"  
"Well, a lot of drama went on last night. But it's okay."  
For a while we read and talk about books, and then I leave.  
I hope Rin's okay.

-Rin-

I sit with Hitomi for a bit and we sit in silence. After she comforted me, I get up and enter my room. For the entire day I moped around the house. I wish I could be my regular self, but I just can't. I hate this side of me.  
I sat on the couch as usual watching TV. Kiriyama decided to come sit by me, and randomly began to try to comfort me.  
"It's not your fault Rin, don't blame yourself. Blame Gaara," He told me.  
Gaara was in the room, and the words seemed to have a strong effect on him, because he suddenly left the room looking sad.

-Koji-

Shuya was moaning inside of his closet. Nothing new.  
I went out into the kitchen, and Gaara was holding a bottle of Sake.  
"O-oh…h-hey Koji…" He hiccupped.  
"Gaara…are you drunk?" I ask, bewildered. What is he doing?  
"Uh…I dunt reely knoooow…whut yooou meeeaan…" He slurred in response.  
"Um…I think we need to sober you up."  
"…Whuuuut…?"  
"I'm gonna go buy some food for you to get sober. We're out of food here in the hotel…so I'll be back soon."  
"O-ohhhhhhhh…kay…"  
"But first," I started, grabbing the Sake bottle, "We need to take this away."  
"N-noooo! Dunt do it! Peeeaase!" He begged.  
"Nope." I smiled, and walked away with the Sake bottle in my hands.  
I decided to hide it, because I didn't want to get pulled over by a cop and be in possession of alcohol.

I left and bought some French fries and a coke for Gaara. That combination to sober him up was the fastest and the best.  
I then drove back, only to find Gaara holding the Sake bottle I had hid once again in his arms passed out on the kitchen floor. That little bastard.  
I put his food on the nearby table, and left him lying there. Hey, at least I tried to help.

~One Month Later~

-Rin-

Nobu hadn't come back, and probably never would return. But I was slowly getting over the incident and forgiving Gaara. Lately, Gaara had been drinking for some odd reason. At the same time, I'm still in shock about his "confession" for me.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: Healing Hearts; A Fire Rekindled**

-Koji-

Gaara told me he had been drinking because he still felt so horribly guilty for ruining Nobu and Rin's relationship. The alcohol made him feel better; it made him forget how "horrible a person he was". I kept on telling him it's not his fault, and it's Nobu's for not listening to the real story, but he kept on denying it and blaming himself.  
Hitomi and I had been becoming closer lately; we've been spending a lot of time together and chatting. I was planning on asking her if she wanted to go on a date today.  
Hitomi sat on the couch reading a book. I sat down beside her and looked at the title, "A Great And Terrible Beauty".

"Hello Hitomi," I greeted.  
"Hello Koji." She looked up at me from her book and smiled.  
"Hey, um…I was wondering…" I started, trying to find the courage to ask.  
"Yes?" She urged on.  
"Would you like to go on a date with me?" I asked, with hope in my voice.  
She looked a little surprised, and I thought I saw her blush, "Oh, um, yes! I'd love to!" She beamed at me, and I shared her excitement.  
"That's great! Be ready by 9:00 o' clock." I told her.

-Hitomi-

I got ready for my date with Koji. I put on a black knee-length dress with white polka dots, and black Mary Janes. I left my hair down, but I put hair spray in it to give it more volume. I sprayed some vanilla-scented perfume on myself, and I was right on time.  
Koji came out wearing black skinny jeans, with a black T-shirt.  
He looked at me and looked surprised, "W-wow, you look great Hitomi!"  
"Thank you, you too!" I blushed.  
"Not really, but thanks anyway," He laughed.  
We left and Koji began driving.  
"Where are we going?" I ask, curious.  
"We're getting ice cream!" He says excitedly, smiling childishly.  
I laugh to myself, how cute!

We pull into a parking space, and head into the little shop.  
I pick a Cookie Dough ice cream cone, and Koji picks an Oreo one.  
We sit down, and begin to chat merrily.  
"This is yummy!" I say happily, taking another lick of my ice cream.  
"Yeah, it is!" Koji replies.  
I look at Koji's happy smiling face, and I take a moment to appreciate that I met him. I'm happy that I'm with him now, and I realize that I would rather be with him than anyone else at this moment. I…I think I love him.  
"Hey, I know this great place, and I wanna show it to you after this." Koji tells me.  
"Sounds great." I reply.  
We finish eating our ice cream, and leave.

Koji drives all the way up a mountain, and parks at the top. He takes my hand, and leads me to the most magnificent view I have ever seen.  
There's a bench overlooking the entire city, and we sit down.  
"This is so beautiful!" I gasp with fascination.  
There are so many twinkling lights below, and the sky is dark full of what looks like thousands of stars above us! I could stare at something this fascinating forever…  
"I love it up here…I sometimes come up here to think and to be alone. It's a special place from my childhood…You're the first person I've brought up here." Koji explains, smiling at me.  
It makes me feel special that he brought me up to such an important place to him, and that he's telling me this.

Koji looks at me, and he examines my face closely.  
"You're so beautiful…" He says suddenly.  
I blush a deep crimson, "W-what? I am?" I say rather stupidly.  
"Yes…"  
I can see him leaning closer to me…my heart is beating so fast and time is moving so slow. His lips are so close to my own...it almost feels like a dream. Our lips meet, and I close my eyes. I'm overpowered by emotion, and this moment seems so perfect.  
He puts his arms around me, and kisses me even deeper. I feel like I could melt inside of him, and I want it to go on forever.  
He pulls me even closer to him…all I want is him.  
"I love you…" He whispers, soft as velvet.  
Hearing him say those words makes my heart skip a beat.  
"I love you too…"

~5 Months Later~

-Rin-

I had finally recovered from the entire incident and was back to my regular self. Gaara stopped drinking, and I had forgiven him fully by now. To celebrate, Hitomi and I decide to go and get coffee at Barnes and Noble while checking out the manga.  
We're out on the town, and suddenly I hear a voice call out my name.  
"Rin? Is that you?"  
I turn around and recognize someone from Osaka.  
"Ren? Oh my gosh, why are you in Tokyo?"  
"I was visiting Osaka actually, I live here." He explains.  
"That's so amazing!"

After our meeting, we head over to Barnes and Noble with Ren. We make fun of Shugo Chara for a bit, and then head to the Starbucks portion. We sit and chat at a table in the store.  
"So, we never really met each other properly," Hitomi tells Ren, "My name is Hitomi." She smiles.  
"Oh, as you probably already know, I'm Ren." He smiles back.  
We chat for a little bit more.  
"Hey, so can I have your numbers so we can hang out some more?" He asks us both.  
"Of course!"  
We then exchange the numbers.  
"Well, we must be on our way." I say politely.  
And then we go our separate ways.

-Hitomi-

Rin and I go back home, happy that we got to meet Ren again.  
The group is all lying around the couch, watching TV.  
I sit next to Koji happily, snuggle up close to him, and put my head on his shoulder. He smiles down at me, and puts his head on my own.

-Gaara-

I was happy that Koji and Hitomi were together, but…he made it look so easy! I still wasn't with Rin, yet Koji was with Hitomi within, what, a month? Damn…  
Hitomi put her head on Koji's shoulder, and they seemed very happy together. I wish Rin and I could be like that…But it seemed like Rin was forgiving me, and that was a huge achievement.  
Rin sat next to me on the couch. She was even willing to do that!  
"Welcome home, Rin." I smile at her, extremely happy that she has forgiven me.  
"…Thank you?" She responds, clearly confused.  
Was it so weird that I was being nice to her?

-Koji-

We all sat eating dinner at the table, laughing and talking.  
"So, Hitomi and I were talking. We decided a camping trip would be fun! Anyone agree?" Rin asks.  
"That sounds like a great idea!" I exclaim excitedly.  
"A camping trip? Please, I have better things to do with my time." Gaara says stubbornly.  
"But it will be fun!" Hitomi says.  
"I beg to differ," Gaara continues.  
"Gaara, for once in your life stop whining like a dumb little kid. You're only thinking of yourself." Kiriyama snaps.  
Gaara glares at Kiriyama, "I'm not!"  
"Please Gaara?" Rin asks him, with an innocent expression.  
This seems to be his weakness, as he looks down sort of guiltily, and says "…Alright. Fine."  
"Thank you Gaara!" Rin says happily, and hugs him.  
He blushes deeply, "U-uh…yeah."  
Wow, Gaara is hilarious.  
"When should we go then? Hitomi asks.  
"Hmm…well we don't have anything planned for later, so why not tomorrow?" Rin suggests.  
"Sounds good.' Kiriyama replies.  
"Yeah, works for me." I agree.  
Gaara doesn't look happy that it's tomorrow.

~Next Day~

"We're leaving in 15 minutes!" Rin calls out.  
I sit with Gaara in our room.  
I'm already packed, ready to go. But Gaara has barely anything in his bag and is taking his sweet time moping on the floor.  
"I don't wanna go camping." Gaara complains.  
"It's nicer than it sounds, really. Camping is fun!" I say happily.  
This doesn't convince Gaara one bit, "What are we supposed to do in some retarded forest? Be surrounded by bugs and not be able to bathe?"  
"Well kind of, but there are public showers." I tell him.  
"That's gross. This trip doesn't sound fun at all."  
"You'll change your mind eventually."  
"I doubt it."  
Gaara just sits there doing nothing, and even more time passes.  
"I suggest you start packing up. We're leaving in like 10 minutes now." I say.  
"Fine, whatever."  
Gaara starts just throwing in random belongings in his bag; not even caring what he takes and what he leaves behind.  
The last remaining 10 minutes go by, and we're loading everything up into the car.  
Then we finally leave.  
Kiriyama is driving, Kiyoko is in the passenger seat, and I sit in the middle in between Hitomi, to my left, and Gaara, to my right. Rin is squeezed in with us too, and she's sitting beside Hitomi. Lastly, Shuya is in the back behind our seats with Kyoya. We didn't want them to come, but they just keep on sneaking into the car with us.  
Gaara is extremely moody beside me, and I just don't see what his problem is.  
I hold Hitomi's hand, and she blushes and smiles at me.  
I'm happy she's with me.

-Gaara-

This car ride feels like it will never end, and I want to get this stupid camping trip over with already.  
We drive for about an hour, and I'm getting so utterly bored.  
"HEHEHEH WE GET TO SEE BEARS! AND DANCE AROUND THE FIRE! YAAAAY!" Shuya and his ugly face yells from behind us excitedly.  
"Yeah! And we can cuddle together to stay warm my looooove." Kyoya tells Shuya.  
"OH. Heheh, y-yeah!" Shuya stammers.  
"Hehehehhehehehehehheheheheheheehehheeheheeeeeeheh eeeeeeeehhehehehehehheheheheheheheeeeeeeeeeheeeeeh ehehhehehhe." Kyoya giggles.  
Then I hear Shuya whisper, "I'll cuddle with my love Gaara, not KYOYA!"  
"Wait, what'd you say Shuuuuuuuya?" Kyoya asks.  
"UM. NOTHING. AHHHHHH!"  
"Hehehhehe ALALALALALLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAA."  
"Would you SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I yell.  
I can't stand them anymore! They are so utterly annoying!  
"…O-O-O-O-O-K-K-K-K-K-KAY…." Shuya stammers some more, sounding fearful.  
"Jesus," I mutter.  
"No yelling in the car!" Kiriyama says.  
"I can do what I want!" I snap.  
"No, you can't," Kiriyama says simply, "So do us all a favor and be quiet."  
I scowl at him and give him the deepest glare I can give.  
Who is he to give me orders? He acts like he's in charge or something!  
Meanwhile, Rin, Hitomi, and Koji begin to engage in merry conversation.

-Hitomi-

Rin, Koji and I chat for about another hour. So it's been a 2 hour drive so far, and we have 1 hour left.  
Gaara looks like he's about to shrivel up and die in his little corner from boredom, but the rest of us are doing fine.  
"HEY. I have an…IDEA! LET'S GET NAKED! LIKE BAAAAAAABBBBBBBBIIIIEEESSS!" Shuya yells from the back.  
"Okay!" Kyoya agrees.  
They begin to take off their shirts, and I hear their pants unzip.  
"What the hell are you guys doing back there?!" Rin yells.  
"Getting NAKED. You can too if you WAAAnnnnTTT!" Shuya replies.  
"NO! And don't get naked, it's disgusting! Put your shirts back on!" Rin orders.  
"I WAS BORN NAKED!" Shuya yells.  
"So what?! Get your clothes on!" Rin responds.  
"BUT…I HAVE A RIGHT!"  
"I SAID GET DRESSED!" Rin yells.  
"…OKAY."

All is silent after that little conversation, and we pull into a gas station.  
"We're running low, so I'm refilling. Anyone want anything while I'm in there?" Kiriyama asks us.  
"Umm, I'll have a coke." Rin says.  
"I guess I'll have a Sobe. Strawberry flavor please." I say kindly.  
"Some mini cookies or something please." Koji says, laughing slightly.  
"Uh, I suppose I'll have a Sprite please." Kiyoko says.  
"Okay, this is a lot to remember!" Kiriyama says, laughing, "Do you want anything Gaara?"  
I'm surprised he's even asking Gaara. That's nice of him.  
"…Uh, no, I'm good." Gaara responds.  
"Okay."  
"I WANT SEX!" Shuya yells at the top of his lungs.  
An elderly couple outside looks at us horrifyingly.  
"Keep your voice down Shuya!" Kiriyama says angrily to Shuya.  
"Oh…SORRY. HEHEHEEH…"  
What is wrong with Shuya?  
After some awkward silence filled with people outside looking at us all weirdly, Kiriyama returns.  
We all get our snacks.  
"Did I get the right kind?" Kiriyama asks Koji, handing him a little bag with mini Oreos.  
"Yeah! Thanks Kiriyama! You're the best!" Koji says happily.  
"Yeah, thank you Kiriyama!" Everyone says in unison.  
Including Shuya for some reason.  
We continue on the road while munching on our food.

-Rin-

The car ride was long, and a little tiresome. I had barely stopped laughing from Shuya's outburst of wanting sex, and now I was finishing my coke. I looked to my right, and thought how cute Koji and Hitomi were together. I'm happy for them!  
Finally, we arrive at the campsite. It's enclosed by trees and a river is flowing nearby. When I looked more, I noticed the ocean glistening. We had a perfect view! We seem to be away from most of the people, and we set up the tents. Gaara's still pouting, and it's bugging me. I know camping can be frustrating, but why is he being so childish right now?

I help with the tents, and finally we're done with that. We put all of our stuff into the tents, so all of the hard work is done.  
"What are we going to do now?" Hitomi asks.  
"Maybe explore…?" I suggest.  
"Okay, sounds like fun!" Hitomi agrees.  
"Gaara, are you coming with us?" I ask him.  
"No."  
"Why are you acting so childish Gaara? It's rude. And if you don't go, what else are you going to do?"  
"Because I hate camping! And sorry it's bugging everyone. I'll just sit here and figure something out." He replies.  
"Good, I don't want him pouting the whole time." Kiriyama states. He had a point, but I was disappointed Gaara couldn't enjoy himself here.

We left, and it was breathtaking. Gaara sure was missing out! We all strolled along taking in the beauty. We stumbled upon a pretty area that was filled with pretty flowers and the river was flowing nearby. There was a perfect place to picnic, so we all headed back to get food.  
We gathered the food and a blanket to sit on and started to head back.  
"Gaara, if you want to eat lunch, you should come with us." I suggest to him.  
"Fine."  
He sulked behind us the whole way there. When we arrived, I began to lay out the blanket. It was really big, so all of us could sit down. I sat down and started laying out the food and dishes with Hitomi and Kiyoko's help. I was happy that Kiyoko came along, she was really nice.  
We all began to chat and eat, it was quite fun. Gaara was still pouting. I tried to get him to talk with everyone, but he just wouldn't. When everyone finishes, Kiyoko and Hitomi help me with putting everything away. We go back to our campsite and hear growling. It sounds strange, but I figure it's nothing to get worked up about.

-Shuya-

Everyone ditched us! HOW COULD THEY?! EHHHHHHHH. I was bored, so Kyoya helped me put on a big, fuzzy bear suit! YAY! We went to the family next door.  
"RAWR!" I began to growl at them, when Kyoya butt in.  
"Shuya! Don't torment the family! That's not nice!"  
"RAWR!" I then growled at Kyoya.  
"AHHHHHHHHH! STAY AWAY BEAR!" He ran away and I smiled.  
"HAHAH RAWR!"

-Rin-

I wonder where Shuya and Kyoya went. As long as they weren't by us, I was fine. I decided to go watch the ocean for a bit. It was very calming. Everyone was either busying themselves with talking, or pouting in Gaara's case. I suddenly heard footsteps approach me, so I turned around.  
"Hey." It was Gaara.  
"Hi. What are you doing?" I wonder.  
"Just calming down."  
"Are you having any fun?"  
"No. I hate camping. I hate being dirty, I hate bugs, I hate Shuya and Kyoya. Not to mention how boring it is here." He complains, facing the ocean.  
"Wow, you hate a lot of things. I can't deny them, but sometimes getting dirty is fun, don't you think? And it's not boring! You're just being stubborn! What do you want to do?" I try to converse with him.  
"I don't know. You?" He's hard to talk to.  
"Well, we could go pick up shells and stuff at the ocean. It's really fun. Or wade in it."  
"I guess."  
"I'll go ask the others if they want to go." I was about to get up, but Gaara starts to talk.  
"Well, maybe. They're busy, right? Let's just go by ourselves."  
"Uhm, okay. I'll change into a swimming suit. Be right back!" I hurry and leave to the girls' tent. I search my bag and find a cute one-piece that is black with a cute red strawberry on it.

-Gaara-

Rin gets up and enters a tent. I leave to my tent, and search through my suitcase. I realize I forgot my swimming suit while pouting, and groan. I can't wear my boxers! I frantically look through my suitcase, but there's nothing I can use as a replacement. Shit. I would borrow Koji's but that's weird.  
I step out, and decide to just roll up my pants. I see Rin in a one-piece swim suit.

-Rin-

"Gaara, where's your swimming suit?"  
"I forgot it."  
"Uhm, okay. So what are you going to do?"  
"Just roll up my pants."  
"Okay…" I respond awkwardly.  
We start to head down the path for the ocean. We arrive, and the crowd of people isn't too packed, but there's a little bit more people than I expected.

-Gaara-

I'm alone with Rin. Again. Just like…last time. But this time I won't mess things up. I refuse to! I'll make sure everything is perfect…  
We begin gathering seashells, and I stare at Rin. She's so beautiful…  
Rin runs up to me and shows me the seashells she's gathered.  
"Aren't they pretty?" She says, smiling happily.  
"…I guess." I say, in a sort of trance.  
I have the urge to kiss her again. I want to, badly, but…I can't!  
After some more gathering, we stop and sit down. We sit in silence for awhile.  
I move my hand towards Rin's, and put mine on top of her's.  
I don't know how I found the courage to, but it just kind of happened!  
"It would be nice if it could always be like this…just the two of us." I say, smiling at her.

-Rin-

For a while, we scanned for seashells. I found a few, but there wasn't a lot of pretty ones. When I decided to quit, I went over to Gaara to show him my findings. His reaction wasn't what I hoped for, but I was fine with that.  
We then sat down and he put his hand on mine. I was a little confused, but I guess he was still in love with me. I felt bad for him, but I don't think I liked him in that way. Especially the way we met!  
"It would be nice if it could always be like this…just the two of us." He says out of the blue.  
"Uhm, what do you mean…?" I respond, confused.  
"…Just like this, together…" He says calmly.  
"…Yeah. I guess." I respond, trying to be nice. How was I supposed to respond to that?  
He turns toward me, looking apologetic.  
"Rin…I'm so sorry. It's all my fault…if I hadn't kissed you; you and Nobu could still be together! I just…I'm so ashamed of myself…" Gaara said; while removing his hand from my own, and putting it to his face in guilt.  
His confession put me off guard, so I was silent for a little bit.  
"No, it's okay. Besides, it showed me a side of Nobu I didn't like. He wouldn't even listen! So it's okay!" I tried to comfort him.  
He looked really sad. I couldn't think of any more words to help, so I stayed silent.  
"I guess we should leave." I tell Gaara, trying to break the silence.  
"Yeah." He walks ahead of me, but I feel like I did something wrong.  
When we arrive back, Hitomi tells me that there's a natural hot spring nearby.  
"That sounds like fun!" We all get up and start walking to the hot springs.

We separate into girls and boys, and I start scrubbing down. After I finish cleaning myself, I grab a see-through kimono and follow Hitomi and Kiyoko into the girls section for bathing. We all start to chat about our day.  
"Well, today at the beach, I was with Gaara. We were collecting sea shells, and took a break. He put his hand on mine, and started talking about how he wished it would always be like that. Just the two of us." I explain to them.  
"How sweet!" Kiyoko comments.  
"I guess. I just didn't know what to say to him. I don't know if I like him like that. I feel bad for him and all, but he's just a friend. Hopefully he'll get over me." I confessed.  
"Poor Gaara." Hitomi mutters.  
I look down feeling ashamed. Kiyoko then starts to talk.  
"Well, as you guys know I've been hanging out with Kiriyama lately. I think I like him, a lot. I hope he likes me back."  
"I'm sure he does! How couldn't he?" I comforted her.  
"Well, I'm just happy Koji and I are together!" Hitomi smiles happily.  
"Yeah, you're really lucky." I say. Maybe I was a little jealous. Nobu screwed me over, and now I'm acting bratty about the whole Gaara thing. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but it seems like that's impossible.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Drama Rama**

-Gaara-

Kiriyama, Koji and I hang out in the boys' section of the hot springs.  
"This feels nice," Koji says, smiling.  
"Uhm, yeah." I reply.  
"So, how was your time with Rin? Did—"  
Koji's voice gets cut off by voices on the other side of the 10 foot wall. It sounds like Rin, Hitomi, and Kiyoko.  
"Be quiet!" Koji whispers.

We listen in, and clearly by how the girls' conversation is going, they have no idea we're on the other side of the wall.  
Rin talks about what happened between us earlier at the beach, and she admits to them that she doesn't like me in that way.  
It hurts a lot. Of course I knew she never loved me, but…to hear it from herself; confirming it…  
I just don't want to accept it.  
But I hear Hitomi say, "Poor Gaara."  
It makes me like Hitomi more, since she's the only one showing me sympathy. In a friend way still of course.  
Kiyoko starts talking next; admitting she likes Kiriyama and hopes he likes her back.  
Kiriyama has a strange expression.  
Lastly, Hitomi speaks that she is very glad that her and Koji are together.  
Koji gets a happy expression and gets a very wide grin.  
I look down sadly at the water. Why does it feel like I'm always the one bad things happen to?  
Koji must know I'm down, because he pats my back and says, "It's okay…"  
We continue to relax in the warm water, and the girls never find out we're right next to them.

-Rin-

We finish our discussion and exit. I put on my strawberry swimsuit again and we all head back to our campsite. I'm pretty bored, and feel bad about earlier, so I decide to hang out with Gaara.  
"Hey Gaara, do you want to hang out or something…?" I ask him nervously.  
"No, not really."  
"Oh…okay." I'm a little disappointed, but maybe he needs alone time or something.  
Just as those thoughts cross my mind, I see him walk over to Hitomi, and thankfully he's close enough for me to hear every word.  
"Hey, Hitomi, want to hang out?" Gaara asks her.  
"Uhm…sure? Maybe Rin could tag along too! Koji as well!" She asks excitedly.  
"No I don't really want them to come." He says.  
Now I feel worse. Is he mad at me or something? I wouldn't be surprised. But it was rude of him to refuse me, and then go straight to Hitomi. Maybe there's something else. But I'm still hurt.

-Koji-

I see Hitomi and Gaara leave the campsite together, alone. What are they up to?  
I decide to follow them.

-Hitomi-

Gaara takes me through the thick woods, and we stop at a little cliff overlooking the lake.  
I'm really confused as to why Gaara decided to suddenly hang out with me alone. Perhaps it was something urgent he wanted to tell me? Or he really just wanted to hang out as friends?  
He sits down, and I sit next to him.  
"So why did you want to hang out with me? Shouldn't you be with Rin?" I ask politely.  
"Oh, um…I just thought we hadn't hung out for awhile." Gaara replied.  
"Oh, I see…you must be really bored then." I respond.  
"No, really, I just thought we should hang out since we haven't for awhile…" Gaara denied.

I gave him a sort of 'Are you serious?' look.  
"Okay, okay, fine. I…I wanted to make Rin jealous." Gaara admits.  
"I knew there was something," I say.  
It's really easy to make him admit things. I laugh in my head.  
"But even if I was doing this to make Rin jealous, I still thought it would be nice if we hung out together." Gaara smiles.  
"Alright, if you say so." I smile back, "So anyway, Rin looked really upset about something when we left. Maybe you could go back and comfort her?" I suggest.  
"…Rin is upset because of me. She…she invited me to hang out with her, but I denied. The thought of making her jealous occurred to me, and I decided to invite you instead…And I think she overheard." Gaara explained.  
"That's rude Gaara! How can you expect Rin to like you if you keep on being a jerk towards her?" I scold Gaara.  
"Well I…" Gaara sighs, "I overheard everything you girls said in the hot springs."  
"What…? But how?" I ask, rather shocked.  
"We were on the other side of the wall." Gaara says.  
"You were? How come you guys didn't say anything?" I ask.  
"Well, you all were revealing things, and I wanted to hear what Rin thought of me. However, it wasn't exactly what I wanted to hear…"  
"Well that's embarrassing…" I mutter.

I can't believe they were listening the entire time! But at least what I said wasn't something Koji didn't already know. But for Rin and Kiyoko? Kiyoko admitted she likes Kiriyama, so now he knows, and Rin admitted not loving Gaara. I feel really bad for them.  
"Hey, I'm sure you girls would do the same thing if you were in our position." Gaara says.  
"Well, if I think about it, yeah, we probably would." I laugh.  
After a moments silence, I continue, "Well anyway, you should apologize to Rin for being so disrespectful."  
"Yeah…I guess you're right." Gaara says, looking off into the distance.  
"And if you hadn't denied Rin's invitation, you two could've gotten closer!" I point out, looking upset.  
"Damn…You're right about that too." Gaara says a little sadly.  
"Well…I think you should go back and make it up to Rin. She'll forgive you eventually."  
Gaara sighs once more, "Alright."

-Koji-

All Gaara does is confess about Rin to Hitomi. I was expecting some forbidden romance here.  
I scratch my head. Since when were Gaara and Hitomi so close? Gaara usually only confesses things to me, but…okay then.

-Rin-

After being denied, I just sat in the girls' tent and read a book. It was a little boring, but after half an hour I heard Hitomi's voice muttering, "Go on, Gaara."  
I heard the tent zip open to reveal Gaara standing there.  
"Yes?" I ask him.  
"Yeah, uhm, well…" He stops acting awkward, sits down beside me, and looks at me seriously, "Look, I've been acting like a jerk lately, and I shouldn't have denied your request earlier. So, I'm really sorry…"  
I'm a bit confused as he finishes talking. I try to think about what to say back, but I'm speechless.  
"Uhm, it's okay…" I respond. It's the best I can come up with, which is quite pathetic.  
He just looks down and stays quiet. Did I say something wrong?  
"So, you've forgiven me…?" He doesn't even bother to look at me as he speaks.  
"Yeah." I don't know what I did wrong, but I definitely did something.

-Gaara-

I get up, and look at Rin, "Well, I'll see you later then…" And give her a forced smile.  
I walk out of the tent, and spot Hitomi a little ways away under a tree looking at the scenery. I go over to her, and stand next to her.  
"That was quick. How'd it go?" Hitomi asks me.  
"It was…okay." I look away from her face, and gaze at the trees.  
"What's wrong?" She asks, looking at me concerningly.  
"Well…she said it was okay. But…I wish she would've had a better response."  
"…Alright. But she's forgiven you, right?"  
"I know she said she has, but I think she's still upset because of me…I keep on messing up, and it isn't fair if I ruin everything again and again and still expect her to like me. No wonder she liked Nobu more…I know I should be happy that she said everything is alright, but for some reason, I'm not." I try to explain.  
Hitomi is silent, looking at me sadly, "You shouldn't blame yourself…"  
"After everything I've done to her, here I am, wishing she would've given me a better response. Wishing she would've confessed that she actually loves me and those words at the Hot Springs were a lie. Wishing we could be together even though I've ruined everything! How can I possibly make you understand?" I go on, on the verge of losing control.  
"…Gaara." Hitomi says sadly.  
I walk away, leaving Hitomi alone, and leave the campsite. I don't know where I'll go, but I need to be alone right now.

-Hitomi-

Gaara walks away, and I somehow feel responsible. I feel really bad for him…

~A Few Hours Later~

Koji and I walk down to the beach.  
I'm wearing a white bikini with a red cherry design, and Koji wears simple black swimsuit bottoms.  
We arrive, and surprisingly no one is there at the beach. There is a magnificent sunset gleaming against the water, and it's beautiful.  
We sit relaxing for a little bit, and chat about our childhood; laughing at the funny and stupid things we used to do as kids.

Koji walks into the water a little; ankle deep, and holds out his hand. I walk over to him into the water, and take his hand happily.  
The waves softly run up on the sand over our feet, and we walk together hand in hand along the shore.  
I'm so happy being with Koji, and this moment seems so perfect. I want to be with him forever…  
Koji smiles dazzlingly at me; showing his white teeth, and I smile back; feeling overwhelmed with joy.  
"I love you so much…" Koji says softly.  
I'm overwhelmed with emotion, and it means so much for him to say those words. "I love you too." I reply, smiling even more.  
He leans in, and I close my eyes as he his lips meet mine.  
We keep kissing like that for a long time, and I can see the sun go down.

-Rin-

After Gaara left, I was even more confused. Why was he acting so strangely? I continued to read my book, and I read for the rest of the day until dinner. It wasn't exactly how I pictured this camping trip, but at least I was getting some reading done.  
Dinner was ready, and I was starving. We all sat around the fire, and opened the container of potatoes – we had made this before leaving. We all seasoned them to our liking and ate. It was really delicious!

During the whole thing, everyone was pretty much silent. Gaara had kept his head down the whole time. Hitomi and Koji sat next to each other giggling a lot. Kiyoko and Kiriyama were chatting, and Shuya and Kyoya were nowhere to be found. I was basically alone, but I didn't mind. I was too hungry.

After we all made smores. I only had one because I didn't want to get too dirty and sticky from the marshmallows. We all began to put away the dishes and food, and when that was done I went back to the tent. I changed into my P.J's and started reading – again. Soon after, I heard the tent open. Hitomi came in and we started talking to each other.  
"Have you noticed how strange Gaara's been acting?" I start off.  
"Yeah, he's been really upset lately."  
"How come?" I ask.  
"Well he overheard us at the hot springs earlier, they were on the other side off the wall – don't ask – and he heard what you said about how you didn't love him. So he just feels really bad lately, and has had low self-esteem."  
"Oh…I didn't know. I never meant to hurt his feelings, and I apologized earlier. But I guess his reaction was strange. He would just put his head down and it seemed like he was annoyed with me. Does he not believe me…?" Now I was the one with low self-esteem. I didn't want to hurt Gaara or anything.  
"No, he still thinks that you're mad at him, and he still blames himself for what happened. He confessed a lot to me after he apologized to you…and kept saying he wishes you loved him and that you two could be together, but that he felt he didn't deserve it. He also said something like, 'No wonder she liked Nobu more…'." Hitomi explained.  
"Well he shouldn't blame himself for what happened. I do feel bad – really. But you can't just expect me to be head-over-heels in love with him just like that! I don't want to hurt him, but wouldn't it be worse if we got together and I didn't really love him? I want to be with someone I really love, and I don't want Gaara to get hung up on me." I spilled out all of my feelings at once.  
"Well, I guess Gaara just doesn't understand that." Hitomi replied after a moment's silence.  
"I don't know what to do. I mean, Gaara doesn't seem to even listen to me. I guess I'll wait and see what happens. I'm going to bed. Goodnight Hitomi." I wait until she leaves, and try to fall asleep as fast as I can.

-Hitomi-

The next morning, we all sit at a table, eating breakfast. Kiyoko had taken the liberty of making us all french toast. It was delicious! I sat next to Koji. He seemed really happy and kept smiling at me. I smiled back, feeling so lucky to be with such an amazing guy like him. He takes my hand in his, and kisses my cheek. I giggle and blush a little. I notice Gaara look down at this, and abruptly excuses himself. He must still be upset...I remember our last conversation, and then I feel guilty. Rin tries to smile and appear cheerful, but I can tell she's not too happy. It makes me feel bad, because everyone seems to be down and this trip is supposed to be fun.

Suddenly Shuya and Kyoya emerge from the trees and help themselves to the food. They sit down, and begin being their usual obnoxious selves.  
"Ryuk...What is it that you want me to do?" Shuya mutters randomly, making no sense and talking to seemingly no one. "Ahh...yes...they will all die. Justice. It is justice..."  
Those who remain at the table look around at one another.  
"...Is he okay?" Kiyoko mutters, confused.  
"Just ignore him." Kiriyama replies, discarding Shuya completely. After all, I guess this would be considered 'normal' for him.  
"You want an apple?" Shuya asks.  
"Yeah! Sure!" Kyoya responds with a smile.  
"Not YOU!" Shuya yells with a glare.  
Who is he talking to? Kyoya looks hurt, and looks away with a sad look on his face. Shuya pulls out an apple from nowhere, and throws it on the ground. "There you go!" He smiles.  
The apple rolls a little, then stops. It stays untouched.  
"You're not hungry?! Ooohh...I see what you're doing. You want me to kill more people, don't you?" Shuya says darkly, his face contorting into a twisted smile.  
Now he was just creeping me out, and no one could ignore him.  
"Maybe we should leave..." Kiyoko mutters uncomfortably.  
Shuya stands up, and begins flailing his arms. "_They'll all die!_" He screeches, giving us all an accusing glare, "_You're all next!_"  
"Agreed. Lets go to the beach." Kiriyama suggests.  
We nod, and get some bags and leave.

We arrive, and have fun playing in the waves for awhile. Kiriyama sits under an umbrella, reading a book. Kiyoko convinces him to come out and she buries him under some sand. We all laugh as he complains that he can't get up, and we leave to go swim.

-Gaara-

I wander through the woods, thinking. I realize how frustrating and stubborn I've been, and that I really do need to stop this nonsense. I take a deep breath, and decide I will go back and be happy. I will be nice to Rin. She forgave me, after all. Isn't that enough?

After a long time of searching, I finally find them at the beach. I walk onto the sand, and I spot Kiriyama under the sand; stuck. He squirms around and cusses, and I stifle a laugh.  
"Gaara! Would you be a pal and help me out?" He asks, desperate.  
"Hmm...What have you ever done for me? Why should I help you?" I ask, folding my arms with a grin on my face.  
"Look...I know we've had disputes, but I really need your help here. Please."  
I stand there a moment longer, and then say, "No, I don't think I will." I smile and leave, laughing and join the girls and Koji.

-Rin-

After the awkward breakfast, we all decided to head over to the beach. We were all playing in the water, and having fun. We also buried Kiriyama, who was struggling to get free.

The entire time we were goofing off, I couldn't help but wonder where Gaara was. I didn't even know why he was being so pissy, why would he expect me to just fall madly in love with him after he was being such a dick? I couldn't help but feel horrible, I didn't want to hurt him, it was such a sensitive subject.

When my mind was just thinking about him, Gaara steps passed Kiriyama and greets all of us.

"Hey, Gaara! Where did you go?" Koji questions him, but Gaara lightly brushes off the question.  
"Oh, just a quick walk. Shuya and Kyoya are a lot to handle." He quickly explains.

I act as if Gaara hadn't even appeared, and continue to play in the water. Sadly, Gaara notices me quickly.  
"Oh, hey Rin." He greets me casually, as if nothing had happened before.  
"Oh, uhm, hi." I say awkwardly.  
We all continue to play on the beach, time feeling twice as slow.

-Shuya-

He...He tricked me! I won't let him get away...ehhhhhh. I will crucify him for his SINS! The fire is already burning, everything is ready for...JUSTICE! I was as my "lover" nears the fire...so close now...I cackle menacingly at his pain.

-Rin-

After we return from the beach, we head back to the camping grounds. On our way there, we saw a sheriff with Shuya and Kyoya. We didn't even question it, but I happened to notice a fire and a large cross. What happened?

We all make ourselves some quick sandwiches, and sit around the campfire. I take my time eating, not in the mood to do much else. After lunch, Hitomi and I decide to go exploring.

The paths are difficult, and are time-consuming. We take a long time just to stumble onto a calming area. A flowing waterfall sits beside sturdy rocks, with a forest threatening to consume it. We each take a spot on some rocks near the large waterfall, and begin a conversation.

"What do you think our parents are doing?" I begin.  
"I don't know, I haven't even seen any news about the tournament. Do you think they assume that we're dead?"  
"I...I don't know. But I miss being at home, we had nothing to worry about. No money or bills. No fending for ourselves."  
"I know what you mean."  
"Hmmm, all our friends. They're gone, or think we're dead. As if we lost everything." I muse.

Hitomi nods, and we reminisce of our past, things we used to do as kids. The conversation bounces from random subjects like boys to books and everything in between. We talk for hours, when we finally realize we need to get back.

Going down the paths is slightly faster than before, but still difficult. We arrive just as night is beginning to fall, and when Kiyoko is making dinner for everyone. The meal is delicious, and we all enjoy ourselves, having s'mores afterwards. We all decide that we will pack and leave tomorrow, leaving Shuya and Kyoya if we got the chance.

-Hitomi-

After eating our dessert, we all remember Kiriyama is still stuck at the beach. We all feel extremely bad, and rush there; hoping he's okay. Gaara decides to come with us.

When we arrive, he's still struggling to get free. Rin, Kiyoko, and I dig out the sand and free him.  
"We're so sorry Kiriyama!" We all apologize with our deepest gratitude.  
Meanwhile Gaara is just laughing his head off. Kiriyama gives us an angry look, and doesn't really say anything to our apologies, except for "Whatever." and "I can't believe you guys."

We head back to camp. After about an hour, Kiriyama is already over it. It's really nice that he's decided to not be stubborn, but I could understand completely if he was. It's rather surprising how easily he gets over things, so unlike Gaara. If we did that to him, he'd be mad about it for days, probably giving us the silent treatment.

Now that Kiriyama is fine, he makes himself a sandwich since he missed out on dinner with the company of Kiyoko. I remember that she likes him, and I've never imagined Kiriyama ever falling in love. It just doesn't seem to suit his personality, and it makes me feel bad for Kiyoko. He doesn't seem to be interested, and he heard that conversation back at the hot springs about all of our feelings, didn't he?  
Shuya sits by the fire, scribbling furiously whilst muttering to himself. Kyoya tries to suck up to him, but Shuya does a low growl each time Kyoya comes in too close. They are so strange...

Rin and I go to sleep in our tent, ignoring the eerie sound of Shuya speaking of things like killing people for justice. What has gotten into him?

-Gaara-

I wake up and scratch my head. The dreams never stopped.


	14. Chapter 14

**This is as far as my best friend and I wrote, so I'm afraid the story stops here. We had all kinds of ideas and plans for future events, however, obviously things were cut short. If you have stuck through the story this far, I congratulate you and hope you've enjoyed.**

* * *

**Chapter 14: Accusations**

-Hitomi-

Everyone packs up to leave back home. It was really fun, but quite frankly I'm really ready to go home. I can tell I'm not the only one either. Everyone meets outside by the fire pit, and we load everyone into the car. We climb inside.  
"Hurry Kiriyama, Shuya and Kyoya aren't here! Lets go!" Rin urges.  
"Yeah, I know." He nods.

Right then, we look out. There's Shuya and Kyoya are there heading towards the car.  
"Lock the doors!" We all yell in unison.  
Kiriyama does just that, and steps on the gas. Shuya and Kyoya run after the car, screaming and yelling to come back. We all laugh and sigh in relief.  
"Phew! I'm glad to FINALLY be rid of them!" Rin says.  
I nod in agreement, and Gaara says, "Hell yeah! I think I would've killed myself if I had to deal with them for another second!"  
"Are they going to be okay?" Kiyoko asks, looking a little concerned.  
She's obviously the only one having doubts about leaving them behind.  
"Kiyoko, do you really want them to continue tagging along?" Kiriyama looks gives her a 'are you serious' look.  
"Uhm, no." She pauses, thinking, "Yeah. Lets just keep going."

We drive on the road for awhile, and the absence of Shuya and Kyoya is wonderful. It's actually nice and quiet, and the ride it much more soothing without them moaning and yelling in the back. We all stop for a bite to eat at the restaurant IHOP. I enjoy the taste of my delicious pancakes and my side of Hot Cocoa. We all have a nice long chat over the table and find great entertainment in witnessing our waiter hitting on Gaara. The waiter cleans up our dishes, and winks at Gaara with a flirtatious smile before leaving.  
"I don't understand, why do all of these guys like me?!" Gaara pouts angrily.  
Kiriyama pays the tab and we leave. To our horror, we see Shuya and Kyoya outside, wandering beside our car. They grin like idiots when they see us, and run over to us.  
"HEY GUYS! Good THING we were able to FIND you! You FORGOT us back at the CAMP!" They yell, still smiling.  
I guess they didn't catch on that we did that on purpose. Suddenly an old man comes up.  
"H-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-heelllloo-o-o-o-ooooooooooo..." He says.  
We all are silent.  
"Uh, do you need something?" Gaara asks in annoyance, folding his arms.  
"A-a-a-a-a-arreeee y-y-y-y-y-yooooooooouuu th-e-e-e-e-essssssseeeeeeee t-t-t-t-t-t-t-twwwwwwwoo-o-o-ooooo's f-f-f-f-f-f-f-frie-e-e-e-e-ennnnnnnnnnnndddddd-d-d -dssssssssss?"  
After waiting an eternity for this old geezer to talk, Gaara responds. "I wouldn't exactly say 'friends'."  
"Oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...t-t-t-t-t-thaaaaaaaaa t's g-g-g-g-g-gooooooooooooooo-o-o-o-od..."  
"Yeah! This kind elder offered to give us a ride to help us find YOU!" Shuya smiles broadly. "So, HERE WE ARE!"  
We all groan and head to the car. So much for enjoying some peace and quiet. It was going to be a long ride home.

-Rin-

The ride home is tiring and difficult, Shuya and Kyoya have successfully given me a headache. I try to block them out, but they just continue to scream at the top of their lungs. They scream, moan, and sing loudly. How the hell do we deal with them? I sigh, and even though the trip home only took an hour, it felt an eternity.

As soon as we stepped into our hotel room, I collapse onto my bed. After my two-hour nap, I take a long shower and freshen up. Once I finish getting ready, I head into the living room. Kiriyama is reading again, with Koji and Hitomi watching TV. I notice Gaara eating in the kitchen, and I laugh to myself.

"So, where's Kiyoko?" I ask curiously.  
"Oh, she went home." Kiriyama replies simply.

I nod slightly, and enter the kitchen. I find a small pear, wash and dry it, and sit down next to Gaara. His headphones are in, and he's bobbing his head to the beat. He looks up and notices me finally, and immediately pulls the headphones out.

"Oh, hey Rin." He says, smiling.  
"Hey." I smile back.  
I awkwardly begin to eat my pear, while Gaara picks at his scone.  
"So, got anything planned today?" Gaara inquires.  
"Uhm, we just got back..."  
"Oh, uh, well if you get bored, we can hang out."  
"Uhm, okay."

I finish my pear, and start to watch TV with Koji and Hitomi.

The next few days are uneventful, and everything is pretty relaxed. I'm sitting lazily in my pajamas when the phone rings. I look up, but don't move from my seat. Gaara stands up beside me, and picks it up.

"Hello?" A few seconds later, Gaara's face contorts into confusion. He puts the phone down and asks me who Ren is.  
"Oh! Hand it here!" I jump up quickly, and steal the phone from Gaara.  
"Hey, Ren! What's up?" I ask excited.  
"Nothing much. I was calling to ask if you wanted to hang out at the park maybe?" He suggests.  
"That would be wonderful!" I look over at Gaara, who still looks extremely confused. "Uhm, one second."

I put the phone down, and explain to Gaara who Ren is and what he wants.  
"Can I come then?" He asks.  
"Uhm, I'll ask!" I put the phone back to my ear, and ask Ren.  
"I don't see a problem with it."  
I tell Gaara the good news, and finish the plans with Ren. After I hang up, I'm bursting with energy. I rush to Hitomi and tell her the plans, and we both get ready.

I slip on a flowing light pink dress with white Mary-janes. I get ready quickly and focus my energy on making the food for the picnic Ren suggested. I decide to make small turkey sandwiches while Hitomi makes chocolate chip muffins.  
Koji and Gaara decide to tag along, and Kiriyama thought it would be best if he watched over everyone. Of course Shuya and Kyoya somehow get caught up in this whole situation, and we're off to the park. The ride is fairly short, and we all take the food out of the trunk.

We wander the area a little, and find Ren sitting on a bench, waiting for us.  
"Wow, I didn't expect such a large group!" Ren jokes.  
"Sorry, everyone kind of decided to join in, it just kind of happened." I try to explain.  
"Don't worry about it!" He says smiling.

We quickly find a nice area to sit, and place a blanket down. We set out the food, and have our picnic. When that's over, we all decide to head back home with Ren.

-Hitomi-

After our nice picnic, we start heading home. As we walk along the sidewalk I admire the sky and the nice warm weather.

"IT'S YOU!"  
We all turn to look, and see a familiar looking little boy with blonde hair. The rich kid!  
"You three robbed me!" He yells, looking furious.  
"Uh...Who is this kid?" Ren asks. Everyone looks pretty confused.  
"Uhhh...it's a long story." I offer, laughing nervously.  
"Are you even LISTENING to me?!" The rich kid yells angrily.  
We all quickly look back at him.

"Hey, you stupid little kid! Get lost!" Gaara says, annoyed.  
The rich kid looks outraged. "You can't tell me what to do! Do you all have any idea who I am?!" He suddenly looks very impressed with himself, "I'm pretty famous around here, you know."  
We all raise our eyebrows.  
"Anyway," He snaps back, "YOU HAVE A DEBT TO PAY!"  
"Umm...how about you just forget it ever happened and go home?" Rin asks.  
"NO!"  
"We're...sorry?" I attempt.  
"Hmph!" He folds his arms. "I'll offer you a deal," He then looks very business-like, "I won't report you to the authorities if you serve me as my servants for one month at my mansion."  
"You're joking, right?" Kiriyama gawks.  
"I'm very serious! If you refuse, you'll all be thrown into jail!" The rich kid looks and Gaara with a death glare, "And you'll be going to jail TOO!"  
"I wasn't even involved!" He says hopelessly.  
"Too bad, you are now." The rich kid puts up his chin in a pouty way.

We all look at each other. "It doesn't sound like we have much choice...I think we have to serve him." Rin frowns.  
"You're right...we can't afford being thrown into prison." Kiriyama agrees.  
We sigh and slowly turn back towards the rich kid, defeated. "We've reached a decision..."  
"Well, what is it?"  
"We'll serve you."

The rich kid looks very pleased. "Good. You have to come with me to my mansion RIGHT NOW!"  
"What about our stuff?" Rin asks helplessly.  
"You won't need them. I have everything you'll need at my house. Besides, how would I be able to trust that you guys wouldn't run off and back out of the deal? I have to keep you in my sight!"  
"But...we have valuable things back at home!" I join.  
"Tough luck. Now, I'm calling my driver...wait here." He pulls out a cell phone.

"Our...our lolita clothing!" I cry to Rin.  
"I...I know!" She cries back.

Koji looks confused. "Um...am I getting dragged into this?"  
"YES! YOU TOO!" The rich kid says.  
Koji frowns. "I don't understand...Why are we going to this kid's house?"  
No one answers him.

"Am I serving him too?" Ren asks.  
"No...you don't have to!" The rich kid says nicely.

"What the hell?!" Gaara glares.

**The End**

**...**

**Unfortunately**

* * *

**Thank you! :)**


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